Maya 7 vs 8

[Lighthead]

Im going to be learning Maya 8 soon and wondered if there was much difference between versions 7 and 8, the reason im asking is that the version 7 books are a lot cheaper so was thinking of picking them up, would I have much trouble with a version 7 book using version 8 of Maya, was there a significant interface or usability change between the versions?

[danlefeb]

DT has a category devoted to the new features in Maya 8...

http://www.digitaltutors.com/digital_tutors/video_category.php?vcat=m8

[McGergs]

If you are just starting out I recomend you go with Maya 8. They moved alot of things around in the interface and also renamed some things like Mesh instead of polygon etc. Also you won't have to deal with some quirks with using mental ray shaders. As a beginner if you start with 7 and then jump to 8 you might get very confused on where to find things.

[Lighthead]

Thanks for the advice, im actually gona try a few trial versions of differnt 3d apps before I decide if im going to stick to maya if so Ill get the version 8 books.