Hi, thought I'd chime in here. I've used the 3dtoolkit for a while, but like Carrara much much more. The 3dtoolkit EI renders fast, but the workflow isn't to my liking (separate modeling and animation applications), and its texture mapping capabilities are weak. If you are into animation, the 3dtoolkit (essentially EI 2.9) doesn't offer that much more than Carrara - no IK, just deformations and FK - but the F-curve graph editor is nice. Although the renderer is fast, it doesn't have GI or caustics, or even area lights for that matter. I like the modeler, though, as its nurb rounding makes objects render more realistically. I think Carrara needs a better vertex modeler. On the Mac, use Transporter (classic app only), which you can download via the EI website for file conversion.