"On the other hand Poser realism might be hard to get, but check this out in 3DS Max. This is even something difficult to achieve in Max. Is it real or Memorex?" Yeah, it's definitely not easy, but you can achieve a level of realism in Poser 5 at least that rivals that. The problem would be the time it takes to render. You'd need a lot of lights with soft shadows and high settings. I have 3dsMax as well, and realism of that kind in there isn't nearly as difficult to achieve. The technical prowess exemplified in that image is really the skill he displayed in modeling and texturing that figure from scratch. Otherwise, you can import a poser figure to 3dsmax, adjust the materials a little, and with GI lighting, you can get realism like that in about 20 minutes. If you look at the "Best Rankings" category in the 3dsMax gallery, you'll see tons of photographic images just like that. It's been said that the prejudice of Poser isn't it's ease of use or even the pre-fab models, but as was mentioned, it's the fact that you can make an image that is absolutely beautiful and unique in and of itself, but then maybe someone else created an image witht he same exact hair and clothing you used, and suddenly your image isn't unique anymore. It's the fact that thousands of other people can produce an image consisting of the same elements as yours that puts a very SOUR taste in the mouth of artists using other apps, and most of them do not want the possibility of someone else using the same hair or the same skin texture they did. That's why making it from scratch is so appealing to them. Frankly, I can see their point.