Hello, does Carrara includes everything that RDS5.5 has? I mean, ist Carrara RDS6.0 or is it another product? What are the merits of each programm? Is Carrara better for X and RDS5.5 better for Y? And which programm will be updated in the future? Im going to buy one of the programms but which? Thanks for answers

One could write a book on this but the short answer is: If you can get RayDreamStudio 5.5 for around $150.00 go for it. When Adobe puts there "Imprimature" on Carrara they will probably offer an "upgrade" to former RDS users and most likely fix the shortcommings and bugs with Carrara. I have both & still preferr RDS for buliding things and CAR for rendering. The shortcomings in CAR outweigh the new features as far as modeling is concerned (no nudge & lacks keyboard shortcuts and fewer options to control windows & workspace, no scene or modeling "wizards" and lack of shaders). CAR does render a little faster then RDS 5.5 however and the mesh-form modeler is more stable.

I currently use both programs (Mac versions). Carrara has most everything that RDS 5.5 has and was indeed intended to replace RDS 5.5. There will be no further upgrades to RDS. Carrara has a completely differet interface - very similar to Poser & Bryce, if you are familiar with those programs. It is much faster than RDS in most areas particularly in on-screen rendering and in the mesh form modeler. The big advantage to me of RDS, besides the fact I've used it for years and am more familiar with it, is it is more stable (as long as the appropriate patches for your particular system have been applied) I can work in the program all day without a crash or freeze. Memory requirements are less for RDS for it to function well, but ALL 3D needs lots of memory to get the most out of it. Carrara is buggy. It seems to be on an almost individual basis as to how buggy. The Mac version seems to have more problems. I believe most of those problems are related to the program's "access memory routines", since that is when all of my freezes and crashes take place. However, by changing the way I work, I've been able to run the program in a semi-stable fashion for longer periods and get more done. Now the bad news: The future of RDS is Carrara and the future of Carrara is in limbo. There are encouraging reports that Adobe or the original engineers or both will continue to develop Carrara, but they are all playing the "Can't talk about it" game. If you want a program as a workhorse that you can crank out models and scenes in a stable environment and aren't as concerned about render speeds, having a new version come out, or the latest bells 'n whistles, then RDS is a great program (it has quite a few bells 'n whistles itself). If you can tolerate the occasional freeze or crash (you may not have any), want a really cool and easy to use interface, need a better mesh form modeler, faster rendering and a very powerful shader tree system, plus the "possibility" of an upgrade, then go with Carrara; it is RDS on steroids and has a tremendous amount of potential. Just my two cents on the subject.

My 2 cents on the subject: I don't have Carrara, but I just recently purchased RDS 5.5. I'm already familiar with the interface, so the learning curve is proving to be almost non-existent. The feature set in RDS is incredible. Now, RDS will not be further upgraded. This is the end of the line for RDS. But, (and this is an important consideration), RDS is a very powerful application and can be used to create some amazing images. Carrara is also a powerful program, but from reports here, is very buggy. I guess it's a matter of how much patience you have and what you want to do. For my own part, I bought RDS because it's stable, proven and was incredibly cheap. Good luck!