If you had the chance to buy Maya 7 Unlimited (student version) for $300.00 would you?
Umm no as a student that is still allot of money… so i would use PLE 
yes.
As long as I was going to stay within the terms of the student license they yes.
Otherwise no.
$300.00 just to remove the watermarks and still not be able use anything you do for cash does seam alot. I guess I’ll pass. The ony time I would be tempted to use it for loot would be for when my friend bugs me for some posters or images to turn into bumper stickers at his flea market table. That is as far as my “career” as an artist has ever gone.
Good man. 
Have Maya 6 Unlimited, not for 300 dollars, but the ple does
give you an opportunity to work and develop proficiency.
Have to mention this
The ony time I would be tempted to use it for loot would be for when my friend bugs me for some posters or images to turn into bumper stickers at his flea market table. That is as far as my “career” as an artist has ever gone.
Whatever you think of this, it gives you exposure to the outside world.
Did some “scratches” to play with in Zbrush, sent to a friend, someone saw
it, might be used as a book cover.
You never know.
Flea market today, George Lucas tomorrow.
Best of luck in any case.
( may be wrong, Mr. Meats Meir, used to airbrush vans, someone liked
the work, sent him to learn what eventually became Maya …exposure)
I would to. Just to get a bit deeper into it as the frustrating PLE. I have XSI Full version and a few other demos and I must say that playing with demos/evals is nice to a certain degree but does not show me the ‘beef’. I understand that manufacturers have to protect themselves but I’m not pirating and I am not abusing NFR (not for resale) limitations. So I am in constant agony…
I’d go for it any time.
Lemo
I messed with the PLE but got rid of it when I started to flow. I did not want to get use to a program I would never be able to afford. When I saw the student version for $300.00 I started to drool and said “MAYA” out loud like Homer Simpson would say BEER.
The only other way I could ever own Maya is via ebay, but so far what I have seen there looks not so legal.
Side note - Maya 7 PLE you cannot import or export .objs’ or load any other plug-ins. so workflow with zbrush is nill with the PLE version. you also cant use .mb or .ma files just the ple files. kinda a bummer.
300 isn’t bad for student pricing even if it is for personal use only. Chances are if you’re a student you’re not doing much in the way of paid work anyway so that’s not a big deal. Plus, if you do get the chance to do some paid work there’s option out there like Blender. Do a few jobs with it and you’ll have some cashflow for a license (maybe not Unlimited but still :P) And if you do see Maya on ebay run! It’s a scam and a half, you can’t transfer a Maya license. When I was new to 3d I found Maya 3 on ebay and I bought it…well I have the actual installation discs but no way to properly use them since I couldn’t get a license. I have some cool coasters now for my beers and coffee while I work now.
Re. eBay or elsewhere offering cheap software deals, it is easy to get caught. A good rule of thumb is that if it is more than 10% cheaper than the retail price then it is probably illegal, and even un-bundled stuff can fall into that category (though the sellers will say it is legal). What is worth checking out is the upgrade policies for the software you are buying. Then you may be able to pick up an older but legal version on eBay and upgrade. Just make sure that you get a Transfer of License from the seller. I just bought After Effects like that, version 4 for $20, which will save me several hundred dollars when I upgrade.
I think you can buy a full version of XSI for $500 and its rendered is far superior. Not that I’ve had the time to try it. I spent so much time on Maya that its a shame to through that away.
$500 will buy you “Foundation” the entry level version of XSI, not even close to features in Unlimited. They both use Mental Ray as a renderer by the way. Granted the XSI at that price can be used for commercial work.
I read on xsi site that they had maya to xsi docs or something… and key setup like maya. dont know how exactly this will work like maya but they advertise with it on their site easy to migrate from maya 
XSI Advanced is btw same price as Maya unlimited both $7000 big ones
I spent so much time on Maya that its a shame to through that away.
You’d expect there to be a difference, given the difference in price but Foundation is excellent bang for buck from what I’ve seen of the demo.
I have looked at the feature lists, and I don’t quite undestand all of the missing features in the entry level XSI, but it seems to me that anybody who can’t afford the higher cost versions probably can get by with what’s offered.
If that makes any sense.
Well that is probably the way the are marketing it… foundation (all you need) Essetials (everything you want) Advanced (Everything there is)
So all you need would be enough makes me wonder why they even try and sell the other products
There is someone selling Maya on ebay right know. No researve, My bid was $20.00 but I have not gotting any of my questions I sent to the seller responded. Some one outbid me. I am letting go do to lack of trust. I have just gotten an email from Pixologic on contacting Element 5 to get zbrush shipped to my PO Box. (UPS loses everything in my area!) If I am going to spend $500.00 on something it is going to be to finaly stop messing with the demo of Z.
With the new rigging feature I thinking an undisclosed upated maybe a way to animate easier. Just a hunch.
Zbrush kills maya art wise I think and if I really want to animate there are some good freebees.
Good Job!, you will like the Full Version. And as you have carefully evaluated, it cannot be replaced by any other package. XSI/Maya/Max/C4D that might be a tough choice, but ZBrush is a solid cornerstone in your 3D collection. And do not forget that there is also Poser 6 for rigging and animating in a simple and cost effective way. It even gives you Hair to mess with. Just a hint. AND there are many other options once you wish to get into it.
Good Luck!
Lemo