If what you want is a speedy setup environment for your renderings then I would say some version of Vue 5. In many cases it's now just a matter of setting up the scene for HDRI light and hit render. Getting the kind of light you get so easy using HDRI would take hours to setup with ordinary lights. The Global Illumination and Radiosity also creates stunning results but be prepared for very long rendertimes (where you can expect the hair to take most of it). If money is a problem you could go for Vue 4. You wont have the fancy light options but it will cost you less. The somewhat slow rendering in Vue can also be compensated by the fact that you also get the Render Cow render node witch will make it possible to use up to 5 (as far as I can remember) computers to help in the process. It will of course not help if all you got is one computer.

Then there is XSI, it will give you loads of options on where to go in the future, as an example you could morph your models a la zBrush by painting on them etc.. You could decide to leave the ugly Poser joint and try to do better setups inside XSI insted, it wont be the application that stops you. Only things not included in the Foundation version that probably could have some effect on what you can do is that there is no hair and no hard body dynamic. However setting up environments for rendering will probably take you just as long as in any other none landskape renderer, and it be more as a free standing app than the close connection you can get between Poser and Vue and there is a price to pay in the learning curve. The license for Foundation support 2 processors, if that means 2 processors on one computer or if two different computers can be used I dont know.

Message edited on: 12/17/2004 01:02

And to comment on your specific question, Vue4 or Bryce5.
I have not done enough renders in Bryce in order to compare speed/quality but when using Bryce one has to spend a lot of brain power on trying to figure out how to do things and where to find this and that option. I suppose the designers had very fun having free hands to create an interface that had no likness to anything else or any standards.

It's however not fun at all to use.

Message edited on: 12/17/2004 01:10

And the material editor in Vue is a lot more easy to use.

Message edited on: 12/17/2004 01:12

Message edited on: 12/17/2004 01:13