If you can get Carrara for $200, then get it. It's 89% more stable than it was 3 weeks ago, due to the new patch. It can do some pretty realistic renders if you do it right. Demo Reel? No problem! I think you would be pleasantly suprised at what you'll get for your $200, considering Lightwave costs 10 times more, I've heard bad things about Lightwave on the Mac platform, being that it was really designed and meant for Windows, they havn't smoothed out the Mac version yet. Definately buy Carrara, you will love it, and you'll find all the support you need right in here at Renderosity. just my 3 cents worth. Good luck! kaom