Go with the one you can afford, lol! I'm rather big on Poser 5, because it provides you with more options than Poser 4 (P4). But Poser 4 still isn't down for the count yet, and likely won't be for a while. There is more "support" for Poser 4, as many folks were very unhappy with the performance of P5 when it was first released (There have been three service packs so far, with a fourth and final coming within the month), and around here one person grumbling tends to infect about eight others, and all of them are more vocal than the folks that are happy. Dr. Geep is correct -- and he's got the best tutorials on using Poser's features available to get you started (and he hangs around here a lot answering questions as well). Poser 4 is easier to learn. Both programs can do much the same thing. Someone noted earlier "the rendering engine in Poser isn't perfect" which is misleading (no renderer is perfect) -- what they meant to say was that at times the limitations of poser -- in figures, in lighting, and in what the renderer is capable of -- can get in the way, and many folks have taken to "postworking" their renders to make them look better. (me, I'm whatcha call a "purist", I guess -- I like to squeeze everything out of Poser 1st, then dab a tiny bit here or there.) Nothing wrong with either approach -- it's a matter of taste and skill (I have more skill with poser than I do photoshop, hee hee). I also want to note that Poser can be useful, but you'll still have plenty of work to do to make your images "yours" once you do get it. Good luck, and may the render be with you.

thou and I, my friend, can, in the most flunkey world, make, each of us, one non-flunkey, one hero, if we like: that will be two heroes to begin with. (Carlyle)