Quote - I mean carrara has a lot of prolike features, it's just they ether don't work as well as we'd like or don't do what we expect. Carrara could go a long way just with some intence bug hunting, and updating/tweaking of the existing features.

I could agree with this.  The time I spent in the application wasn't all bad, and I saw a great deal of potential with it, but that potential seemed wasted on big, sweeping, glamorous features, rather than attention to detail.

The way I see it, as is the case with most lowcost to mid-level 3D applicaitons, the parent companies have little experience dealing with professional users, and tend to stretch too wide, and not dig deep enough, in the development of tools.  Most pro-level applications are run by companies that have many years of experience catering to advanced users and the software is developed with a lot of attention to workflow detail, and customization of tools.  Everything from navigation, to scene measurement and snapping tools, are thought out with high level of control in mind, and provide a depth most mid-range applications lack.  While Carrara may allow beginners and intermediate users the power to create things quickly, advanced users and experienced power users could quickly become frustrated with the lack of refinement, and fine control.  I think this is where the investment in a more expensive package is worth it, if you can afford it.

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Tools :  3dsmax 2015, Daz Studio 4.6, PoserPro 2012, Blender v2.74

System: Pentium QuadCore i7, under Win 8, GeForce GTX 780 / 2GB GPU.