Shilts, Yes , you can turn on and off sub-d very easily . With regards to symmetrical modeling , carrara can do this fine and I don't see why some people complain about this. You can see the updates in real time to the opposite side of the model.Here is how you do it. - Start to model one half of your object. - In the assembly room click your object and Duplicate with symmetry in appropriate axis. - place this duplicated object in relation to your other half of your model. - Now double click one of the objects - make sure you click "edit the master" object . Now every change you make to your model is reflected in real time on the other side. You can see this in the scene preview window .Almost everything I have modeled was done in Carrara using this method. Mike