I got if finally. Carrara Pro 5. I have been only playing with it for less the half an hour and I already like what I see. It seems so much snappier then 3.0. Now I have a very long and steep learning curve since I did not buy Pro 4 and upgraded directly from 3.0

You will have great fun.

Glad you could make the move. You won't regret it! ;)

I also got Hex so I got amy work cut out. So far I don't see much deference on Carrara, But I have not gotten to deep in to it.

I just got Carrara5 back in March, and I have to say I love it. 

I also got Hex so I got my work cut out. So far I don't see much difference on Carrara, But I have not gotten too deep into it.

Major differences would be:

Replicators, Volumetric clouds, Tranlsucency, SSS, Vertex modeler tools, displacement, animation tools and more. The first 3 really make a big change for landscapes. 

 

This version is much improved. I am glad I got it. I just need to find out where I can get tutorials for the morphing targets and how to setup the render nodes. I have 3 Macs that are pretty speedy. I should take advantage of the network render deal. Also the Vertex modeler is much improved, very stable. I worked on this that was left undone for months. I am also very pleasantly surprised with Hexagon. Is Hexagon a substitution or upgraded for Amapi? They have similar tools.

Hex was original spun off from the same group as a new modeling tool using sub-d not nurbs and aimed at more organic modelling with a more intuitive interface. Not sure what will happen to amapi now. One thing hex should get tho is better measuring tools. This is important when you need it.

I upgraded from Carrara 3 and I really like version 5.  Actually I used Poser 6 to get the wonderful DAZ bundle with TransPoser.  The interface is a big improvement and it has a lot of new features.  I skipped version 2 and 4 because I found myself using Carrara 1 and 3 less and less.

I'm glad DAZ bought it and offered such a wonderful deal otherwise I would have passed on it.  Hexagon 2 was also worth getting especially for 1.99.  My all-time favorite "was" Vue 5, but it crashes so much when importing Poser characters that I doubt I'll upgrade to version 6.  Carrara 5 imports without a hitch and the renderer is so much faster.  If Bryce would have more realistic vegetation, I'd go back to it.  Carrara 5 is a pleasant alternative.