Free 3D Solutions

*Blender

Blender is the free open source 3D content creation suite, available for all major operating systems under the GNU General Public License.
*Revolutionary non-overlapping and non-blocking UI delivers unsurpassed workflow
*A range of 3D object types including polygon meshes, NURBS surfaces, bezier and B-spline curves, metaballs, vector fonts (TrueType, Postscript, OpenType)
*Full multiresolution sculpting capabilities with 2D bitmap/3D procedural brushes (Paint, Smooth, Pinch, Inflate, Grab) supporting symmetry
*Python scripting access for custom tools
*Fast skeleton creation mode
*Very fast inbuilt raytracer
*Oversampling, motion blur, post-production effects, fields, non-square pixels
*Armature (skeleton) deformation with forward/inverse kinematics with pole target support

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DAZ Studio

DAZ Studio is a free, feature rich 3D posing and animation tool that allows users of any skill level to easily creat stunning digital imagery.
What makes DAZ Studio 2.2 so special? Well, we've already mentioned Lip-Sync, and Smoothing Angle. We've also added to the Morph Panel (Parameters Tab) with the additions of "Figure Favorites" and "Local Favorites." Both tools will allow you to copy your favorite or frequently used sliders to your favorites list. The Power Loader provides an interface to allow you to load content and select only the desired morphs or injections you need for the figure. The Hexagon Bridge to DAZ Studio feature now includes Sub-D support, offering you the ability to transfer Sub-D meshes into Hexagon to create morphs for use in DAZ Studio!

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Google Sketchup

Google SketchUp is software that you can use to create 3D models of anything you like.
Most people get rolling with SketchUp in just a few minutes. Dozens of video tutorials, an extensive Help Center and a worldwide user community mean that anyone who wants to make 3D models with SketchUp, can.
Redecorate your living room. Design a new piece of furniture. Model your city for Google Earth. Create a skatepark for your hometown, then export an animation and share it on YouTube. There's no limit to what you can create with SketchUp.
You can build models from scratch, or you can download what you need. People all over the world share what they've made on the Google 3D Warehouse. It's a huge, searchable repository of models, and it's free.

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SOFTIMAGE|XSI Mod Tool

The Mod Tool is a free version of XSI for non commercial game creation. It is made for everyone needing a powerful 3D application to make and mod games.
Mod Tool is built on the same powerful XSI 3D engine used by leading game companies like Valve, Lionhead Studios, Pandemic, Konami, CAPCOM, and more. With Mod Tool, you can create original games for PC and Xbox 360 using XNA, or create mods for games like Crysis and Half Life 2. It's the easiest way to start making games.
The Mod Tool plugs into all the major game engines and development frameworks for next-generation games, casual games, mods for existing titles and even Flash-based 3D games.

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Terragen

Terragen is a scenery generator, produced with the goal of generating photorealistic landscape imagery and animations. It is available for Windows and the Mac OS. Terragen is free for personal, noncommercial use. Although Terragen is a repeatedly evolving work-in-progress, it is already capable of near-photorealistic results for professional scenery visualization, special effects, art and recreation. Terragen has been used in a selection of commercial applications including film, television and music videos, games and multimedia, books, magazines and print advertisements.
Despite the fact that Terragen can be used for professional landscape visualization projects, it is easy to get to and easy to get started with. You could be rendering your first landscape picture in as little as 15 minutes after installation. Terragen has a native user interface, using facilities provided by the operating system of the respective platform, as opposed to the custom user interfaces used by many similar applications.

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Which freeware and commercial would you personally advise for 3D?

i was just about to ask that same question...

It depends on what are your prefences and which industry you want to go to. There are tens of professional software out there which can cater to your every need. Note that they provide most of the basic tools such as modeling and animation.

So far these are the more popular 3D tools:
3DS Max- (games, movies, architectural visualization, stills etc.)
Maya, very strong in animation and visual FX but I heard it's hard to learn (games and **movies etc...)
Houndini, quite much the same as Maya but less common, meaning less tutorials and help.
Lightwave, not as powerful as 3DS Max but still very good- (games, movies,broadcasting architectural visualization, stills)
Cinema 4D, quite much the same as Lightwave and is popular among designers for abstract 3D.
Modo- (Stills and architectural visualisation)
ZBrush- (Sulpting, texturing, stills, games)
Mudbox, quite much the same as ZBrush.
Poser- (more for making humanoids the importing into other software)
Vue- (landscape and environment generation)

Personally I think that unless you are going to work in a Hollywood studio, you wouldn't need Maya or Houndini. If your are interested in human, then you'll probably need Poser and maybe some other software. I would not recommend Vue if your are just a hobbyist as you wouldn't want to spend the so much money to use something which you can pass. That would leave 3DS Max, Cinema 4D, Lightwave, ZBrush and Mudbox. From my point of view, Lightwave or Cinema 4D would be good enought for you, it's cheaper and it provides everything you need to get done. 3DS Max is probaby if you wan to get into the high-end market. As you become more advance, you will find the nedd for ZBrush/Mudbox.

If you are serious in 3D, I stronly suggest you do more research as there are many more software which cater to different need such and product designing. I hope now you have a clearer idea on what you want. I think Cinema 4D/Lightwave would be good enough for your now.

ok...

Nice informative post Agent. keep it up

I usually used Cinema 4D in the past since it seemed the easiest to learn (as supposed to something like Blender, which was kind of complicated). I might try out DAZ Studio, sounds like an awesome free alternative, thanks for the list

Windows 10 installs a 3D Creator app. Has anyone found it useful?