So far the photo texture problem is the only drawback to Bryce 7 Pro that I have run into and using Bryce 6 as a work around is the only reason I would be keeping it handy. Meaning that now that I have 7 Pro, I will be doing all my main brycing in 7 Pro. Even with the photo tex drawback, 7 Pro still has more advantages than disadvantages.

And Dan Whiteside's suggestion of using Daz Studio to bring photo textures into 7 Pro is a good one too that I plan to try.