I look at it this way... $20 won't even buy a tank of gas these days and that's gone in a week. Carrara Express will last a lot longer. ;-)

Seriously, there is a huge investment in learning the concepts of 3D modeling and learning any particular applications interface. The nice thing about starting with Carrara Express is that everything you learn is directly transferable to the Standard and Pro versions. So that $20 is a future investment in your learning. That is a huge savings in your time when you upgrade later.

I just purchased Carrara 6 Pro last month. I had been using an old copy of Cinema 4D XL7 and couldn't afford to upgrade to a newer version. I am now constantly transferring in my head what I use to do in C4D to what I now have to do with Carrara Pro. So there is a lot of value in having a consistent interface as you progress and upgrade to more power versions of software.

I also use Vue Infinite and I started with the Vue Easel and then bought Vue Espirit and eventually got up to the Infinite version but it's the same concept. Everything I learned in Vue was directly transferable to the other versions.

It's great when companies offer their products at different price points to allow you to get in the game with an investment that you can afford. I got the email for Carrara Express and thought it was a good value for the money for someone just starting out.

~jr