I bought Carrara 4 pro, I like it. I also have Cinema4D, Truespace 5, Vue 5I, Poser 5/6 as well as other programs I have purchased over the years, I started with Bryce 3 and raydream Studio you have to start somewhere is 3D and Carrara will give you lots of option. Yea there are apps out there that will give you more features or do different things this all a part of doing 3D - there is no one perfect app out there. Carrara is a great entry level product it has a great render engine and is fairly quick. Remember art is only as good as the artist, tools make the task easier but it wont make the art better. Good luck to you with what ever program you go with. Happy rendering :)