Quote - DSON performance aside, The biggest thing about M5 is the amount of customization available. You're not locked into specific body shapes and sizes.   If there is something you don't like, you can always change it. Widen the torso, shape the hips, lift the chest, tweak the feet, you can do that with it M5. You also don't lose your M4 textures, and there's a freebie that allows you to use the M4 textures on the M5 gens, so you don't lose that investment either... it works pretty well. There's also a freebie that allows you to use the M5 textures on the M4 gens, so you can parent that to M5 and use that as well... you'll may have to do a little post work though on both of those freebies.

Yes, that is certainly a big upside to M5... a lot more dial-able bodyshapes. If that is something you're after (certainly why I thought it worth getting it) then that is the biggest plus. That and the ability to still use M4 textures (and morphs if you get the M4/V4 shapes plus Generation X from D3D)...

...and any chance of a link or two to those M4-to-M5-to-M4 gens freebies you mentioned Male_M3dia? :)

I guess really, on that "front", what would be more useful for clothed male figures... which I don't think exists already(?), is trouser bulge morphs (left, right or center... with sizing... and maybe shaping) that can follow into the conformed clothing...?

Also, I'd say, on the other hand... now that scaling is working so much better in Poser 9/2012 SR3.1... and there are the joint fix morphs for M4... there is a lot more versatility possible using M4 too... i.e. with the Morphs ++ pack and maybe some other character morphs mixed in too.

The bottom line, I'd say, is there is currently a fair few choices to weight up.

I've currently opted for all of them... personally ;-)