Micropolygon displacement? What's the big deal here? ZBrush does it better than P5 if I needed that. All the other apps do displacement. Micro poly is great for low polygon modelling (primarily games oriented) otherwise it's of no consequence except perhaps for animators and Poser 5 is most certainly NOT an animation solution - as the micro poly tool doesn't reflect across to superior renderers it's kind of negated. As an intro tool it works great but it's certainly not a production tool. Face room? Oh yes, at 512x512 mapping and morphs that look like you just hit yourself with a sledgehammer... hrrm. Strand-based hair without extra plugins? That (looking at the galleries and examples) looks more like someone ironed out a brillo pad. Have you "seen" what can be done with Shave & A Haircut compared to Poser 5? I know what "my" choice would be A reasonable price? Got me with that one. :) Although the investment I've made in Cinema thus far has not been wasted, the tools and plugins are professional and stable and that is a big plus in my book. Not to mention the overall results which P5 can't get near. But that's "my" point. What does Poser 5 offer that I and other owners of more expensive apps don't have? Seriously. I can understand people being interested in something a bit more versatile than Poser 4 but my own recommendations would be to save up and buy a higher level more capable application. I would feel differently if Curious Labs had fixed the workspace, the lights, the cameras, the joint interpretation etc etc. but they didn't. Now allowing that ProPack, integrated with plugins to affordable if expensive applications is far superior to Poser 5 where's the incentive to upgrade to Poser 5? The hair isn't exportable (except by spending more money) Nothing is integrated (except by spending a lot more money). The face room is hysterically useless, the cloth room unstable. They did well on the materials though, that I think was in the right direction at least. Not to mention the complete lack of precision in the interface and workspace. Poser 4 and/or ProPack at least is functional and integrated. Damn, now I'm coming out bashing Poser 5 and that wasn't the intention. Ah well, c'est la vie As an introductory application I would still recommend Poser 4/Pro Pack over Poser 5 because it's easy to learn and stable (well more so). As a mid level app there are better alternatives but none that offer easy posing of pre-made human/animal models. For any other purposes people need to consider something with a bit more meat on it's bones. Poser "is" used in commercial industry, but mostly as a pre-visualisation tool, not part of a production pipeline. Of course it has advantages over high-end pro level apps. Ease of Use being the one that would be most attractive, I just don't see Poser 5 as filling the gap that Poser 4 filled so well.