"Never ever ever under any circumstances buy the first release of any software..." Agreed. But Poser 5 isn't the first release; it's the 5th. I would advise any new Poser user to stay away from 5 and go with P4 and possibly add Pro Pack when you advance. I'm praying the new folks in charge of CL will actually make P5 what it was supposed to be. By that time you'll be ready for it. I still wonder how many newbies started out with P5 and shelved it in disgust, never to look at Poser again.