In what way? The "auto" in autoflower means it switches to flower stage on it's own. That is not the same as veg stage time. Not sure why people still think an autoflower means it's a short lived plant. It is only in the sence that you can't infinatly veg it. A 120 day auto is still an automatic flower. A "fast flowering" version of a photo that takes a few wewks less that it's original parent is still a photogenic flower.
Just thinking, when you get out to around 16 weeks total grow time, with a photo that's equivalent to say six weeks of veg and 10 weeks of flower. During those 10 weeks of flower, the photo's lights are running at 12 hours vs. 20 (+/-) hours for the autos. I just wonder, for all that extra electricity and heat, will the 16 week auto out produce the 16 week photo?
I'm doing two runs per winter with autos, I used to do two runs per winter with photos with a short 3 or 4 week veg (often starting from locally sourced clones). On average I'd say either way the tents produced about the same amount of ounces. I'm not the greatest grower, but for what it's worth my mediocrity is pretty consistent! LOL In a 2x4 tent, whether I grow 6 autos, or 3 photos with a 4 week veg, or 2 photos with a 6-8 week veg, I'll end out with around 12-14 ounces total.
And to be clear, at this point all I grow are autos, I'm not knocking them, and I'm not trying to make this into an auto vs photo debate. I've dropped most DP strains because they throw off the timing on me getting two runs in per winter during the cold months, so I'm aware of long running strains, but not that aware of their advantages. But again, it might just be because I'm really not that good at this, or because of my grow style/choices. For instance, since growing autos, I've made variety the priority, which is why I (roughly) SOG six them in my small tent.