I have C4D XL R7, C4D R8 XL Bundle, and LightWave 7.5. The Basic C4D would be very good for just modelling, simple rendering, and can be expanded with modules as you need. On the other hand, LightWave comes with a ton of features, some not available with C4D even with all of the modules (hair/fur/grass modelling, for instance). C4D's interface is easier to configure and more configurable. C4D has a shallower learning curve. Both accept plugins. But, for the price, LightWave does alot that the more expensive 3D apps do (3DSMax, Maya, SoftImage) and has a very large user base with more books and tutorials available. Also remember that LightWave will run on either Mac OS or Windows without requiring a new purchase to transfer (just a re-registration). This is why I ended up with both C4D XL and LightWave; couldn't really decide which I liked better! :) The default suggestion in this case is to get the demos of both and see which you prefer better.