Hi...
Well, if you come to a Combustion Forum, you will get strong recommendations for..... Combustion !!!
as for me, I like ..... Combustion !
( What do ya expect ? !)
In many ways, it is difficult to directly compare Shake and Combustion: Sure, they both do compositing: But there are some things that one program will do that the other will not....
Shake handles 8, 16 and 32-bit (float) images for high quality productions - Combustion goes up to 16 bit (float)... Does this matter to you? It would if you do the highest end film work. But Combustion works with film too!
Shake charges for it's network renderer, whereas it is FREE with Combustion (called backburner.)
Shake is available for the MAC, IRIX or Linux (Apple killed the windows version) and Combustion is for Mac or Windows.
Shake does scripting, Combustion doesn't.
Both have unlimited number of layers, color corrections, keying, transformation tools, etc... I love Combustions color corerction, keying and 3D stuff... Not to mention:
Combustion gives you 2D particles (OGL support,) whereas Shake requires a plug-in for particles.
When it comes to price, Combustion has Shake beat hands down:
The current promo price is about US $1500 until Dec 31 (and includes Cleaner) whereas, Shake is more like $5000 (DOUBLE THAT for Linus/Irix!!) and requires a yearly maintenance contract of about $1200....
so count your pocket change and .......
Why don'cha download the Combustion demo (from the website, or call your local dealer to get a free CD-ROM.)
Then, you can simply load the program, along with the free 13 included tutorials........
That's all free, and allows you a chance to try out Combustion. then, see what you think.
Bye,
JACK