Tested whether single-photo AI 3D renders can replace a turntable shoot.

disclosure first — I work on a tool in this space, so weigh it accordingly. not linking it, this isn't that post.

I went in assuming the failure mode would be detail. it isn't. wear survives better than I thought — scuffs, paint marks, a dent all came through on the things I tested. what a single photo genuinely cannot give you is the parts of the object it never saw. the back is inferred, not captured, and on anything with a genuinely different back it shows.

honest read after a lot of tests:

• works for a spinning hero shot, social video, a floating cutout on a slide or a plain background

• works when the object is roughly symmetrical, or you only ever show the front

• doesn't work as a substitute for a real turntable rig when the buyer will inspect the back

• doesn't work if you need something dimensionally accurate rather than something that looks right

curious whether anyone here has run the same test and got a different result, particularly on objects with a very different front and back.