For me personally I'm going for Poser Pro 2012.  The differences between Poser 9 and Poser Pro 2012 seem to be significant enough for me not to even think about Poser 9.   Out of the many years that I've been using Poser This is the only time I have recommended to anyone to just go for the Pro version.  In the past for the majority of Poser users, a person could create the same with the regular version as they could with the Pro version.  But this time is different.

The difference with this is that you won't need to be a hardcore 3d tech head in order to get great results.  From what I've read about Poser Pro 2012, I'll be able to create quality renders without having to know all of the knowledge to do so. This in my opinion is the user friendliness that Poser has lacked in the past.  It's truly becoming an software that everyone can use regardless of skill level.  If a person lacks the skills to create a certain material effect, then Poser Pro 2012 will provide the necessary information so that someone with less skill can create better renders.

Smith Micro seems to be developing a more accessible program with Poser Pro 2012, in the same manner that website design has been made more accessible to people who lack the knowledge to design a site from "scratch." 

Poser Pro 2012 will probably seem like a Pocket size bagginsbill built into the program where if you don't understand how to create what you need, the software will provide you a way to do that without having the same knowledge of bagginsbill.

The other benefit of Poser Pro 2012 seems that it reduces your "cost of time."  What would it actually cost in terms of time spent for a person to learn the knowledge that the "experienced pro" knows?  How long would it take for even the "experienced pro" to configure all of the necessary setting to create complex materials settings from scratch?  Having a software that allows you to spend less time configuring and more time creating art will always be a plus in my book.  The best thing is that it still allows people to create settings and configurations from scratch which is still important in terms of flexibility and user control.

I'm expecting great things from this version and I have already pre-ordered it. The only thing that would disappointment at this point is if the released version is full of bugs and bad programming because everything is what it needs to be.

Buying Poser 9 should be one of those decisions made because of not being able to afford the Pro version.  If you can afford the Pro Version then that should be the purchase goal.

Just my thoughts and I guess my money since I have already paid for the upgrade to Poser Pro 2012