Quote - I thought so, but wasn't sure. Safes me studying the 1500 page Bryce manual. Carrara is "only" 865 pages.

Carrara is a LOT more intuitive.  I started with the old Ray Dream Studio which evolved into the Carrara we know today.  I only use the manual if I run into something I need specific info on.  And there are tons of good tutorials on the net, on just about every aspect of using Carrara.