Objective comparison of 3D software products?

Does anyone know of a good resource that objectively compares (side by side) any of the 3D programs on the market? Like Maya, 3DS Max, Lightwave, Cinema 4D, Strata, etc?

I'd also be interested in objective opinions from any members of the forum. Why you like a certain program. Why you dislike others. Which one do you think gives you the biggest bang for the buck if price is a consideration in purchase? Which is the easiest to learn. The hardest. Which of these programs has the best community support? Manufacturer support? Which do you think will be around in 7 years and which will die and go away?

Thanks for any help and/or opinions.

You should try CGTalk.com . Use the search option and you should find plenty of information (you'll probably have to dig around.....but this topic has been discussed many times over there). Also there's not many 3d'ers around here so cgtalk would be a better option.

Thanks for the info.

here's a few good ones:

http://www.insidecg.com/feature.php?id=136
http://www.zaon.com/company/articles/3d_rendering.php

between the two of these they cover most of the major apps, pretty objective too.

chris

Ive got experience with Cinema 4D, 3Ds Max, Softimage XSI and Maya. So ill just briefly give you my opinions of em all.

C4D - The first 3D package i ever leaned, and it got me into the 3D scene big time. Its a very good all-round package, it has great modelling, lighting, texturing, particles and rendering tools. Probably the best piece of software to start off with, and its quite cheap.

3Ds Max - This is my primary program at university, and ive grown to love it. The crossover from C4D to 3ds Max was pretty much seamless, and it's amazing all round. Very good 3rd party support...lots of plugins etc. Bit more expensive but worth it.

Softimage XSI - Im now working for a company that primarily uses XSI. Its very tricky to learn, im buried in a lot of books these day. Its quite different from the other programs because of the way everything is layed out. It gets you to think more mathematically, especailly when texturing. Its growing so fast now that it's doing as well as Maya, the industry 'standard'. Max, by the way, was programmed by the same people that programmed XSI and Maya, Max's image just isnt marketed well, althought it's now being more widesly used in film.

Maya - God awful interface, but relatively easy to learn. It's not pretty, but its powerful and fast. Havent gone too deep into Maya but i know my way around.

And thats about it. Check out www.cyblingdesign.com to see some of my stuff. The 'New' site is work done in 3Ds Max, the 'Old' site is work done in cinema 4D. No XSI stuff yet, still learnin!

HTH

hey cyb, did i tell you i'm about to start learning cinema 4d? any tips?

chris