yes, it's better, and for middle-ground trees (not too close to the camera) I think it works great. But as stated in the post with the tutorial, it is not physically accurate by any stretch of the imagination.
I would not be able to tell from your images you provide above how it is working with physical sun and sky, because your rendering and the reference do not match camera angle or lighting setup for the situation (strong direct sun back-lighting)... so keep in mind if trying produce that exact material, correct lighting and knowing which render method you intend to use is important.
Still, for this material, you would likely need to use SSS translucency, and build leaves with thickness (I believe). I have never tried to do that exact material before - an up close leaf with light shining through it. Perhaps I would start with opening the
Translucents by Alex inside of Kerkythea, and editing one of the materials I think had the most potential... I would try with "milk" or "lampshade" from that pack.
Or, it could be worth trying something
within Twilight, try using your leaf texture inside of the
Shoji Screen material settings - this may allow you to keep them as only single planes without thickness.
I like the shading in the second and last image best... the other needs a bit of contrast.
seems interesting, ... I've made some, the limitation is SU, that slows down, using too many components.... will try again