Over the past few years, Lightwave has become increasingly more affordable. When I first looked at it seriously for the PC (early versions were on the Amiga as part of Toaster), it was selling for around $1600/license. Now, you can get it for half that, or even less if you own a competing product (like Rhino or 3ds Max)

Here's one more reason to look at Lightwave: a Lightwave to XAML converter.

I don't currently own a license to Lightwave, but I have always loved its rendering. The images it renders have a really warm, almost analog feel to them. I have yet to see any other renderers that offer that same feel.