Hi gang, I just got a pretty hefty tax return and I am thinking of getting Poser 5. Can anyone compare and can I still use everything from 4 in version 5? TIA Annette

hello Annette... Yes, most everything from 4 will work in 5... as a comparison, P5 is slower...end result better... Much larger learning curve...there are many more options... I highly advise scrolling or searching through the messages here...on this topic...there is much discussion and differing opinions on Poser 5...also..note above in the banner.. there is a link to Poser 5 sr2.1 forum...please read some of that stuff... There have been issues with P5...many of them addressed with service release 2.1....but some remain...

You may want to use part of that tax return to also upgrade computer. I switched from 1.8P4 w/512meg mem and gobs of harddisk to 2.8P4 w/1g mem and more gobs of harddisk. The actual opening of the program - still slow; but once I begin production rendering - it is as fast as if I was using poser4 render and I set buckets to 5 and raytrace to 6 for detail. I am not happy with all features as all features still aren't working properly but for rendering and setting materials, and hair - is worth upgrade.

That one is tough to answer Annette. I needed to upgrade my system also in order to get much of anything done. I think at this point in time you may be disappointed. There seems to be a grey cloud hanging over Curious Labs. If I had it to do over again, I'd take the money for P5 and put it in the bank. Keep an eye out for another service release, and do read over these forums. P5 is still too rough, and the future of it is in question. If they can fix the bugs it will be worth it. Right now it is a headache.

Daz3d just put out an announcement about Daz Studio, might want to read that before ya spend any money.

Thanks so much everyone for the great inside scoop on 5. From what ya'll have told me, It sounds as though I better wait on getting 5. iamonk, if it is as powerful as you say then I think I definately need to upgrade my system this time around and hold off on 5 for a while. Machine claw, I will go to Daz and check out the announcement this morning. Thanks again everyone.