z1mmnd14, it seems like 3DS and 3DSMax are different from each other. When I browse sites that are CGI based that quote 3DS and 3DSMax, it makes you think that they are different packages.

fredriksson, you are correct. I see amazing stuff from the other packages. Thats what had lead me to believe that those programs ( far less expensive than Maya ) were easier to use, and yet yeilded the same results that maya offers. Thats was my only concern about maya vs. the others. I have researched maya quite a bit, and yes many of industry pros do preffer maya because of the flexibility and power. I heard one guy quote that with Maya, if some one had to correct a mistake, all he had to do was pop the hood and fix it. Does the competition offer this kind of flexability?