Lightwave 3D is made by NewTek,Inc. and is one of the modeling/rendering packages that run on desktop computers and workstations. It started on the Amiga, and in the begining it was bundled to the VideoToaster hardware. LW 4.0 was ported to Windows NT (Intel, Alpha) and SGI. (like Softimage it has the same interface on all platforms). A PowerMac version should come out soon.
The current release is version 5 - it added many new features - the most obvious being OpenGL support for real-time shaded viewports. (like MAX) LW 3D is cheaper than 3D Studio,without being less powerfull. It is mostly used in TV shows like Babylon 5,SeaQuest DSV,StarTrek: DS9 and Voyager and many more - look at the NewTek Homepage
http://www.newtek.com

LW 3D has outstanding lighting F/X built-in, the most admired being its Lens flare, and it has a selective raytracing option.
On the other hand, unlike 3DS, modeling and scene layout/animation are done in two separate programs - you have to build the models first and then put them into the scene.

You should know that the relationship between 3DS and LW3D users is like the one between Windows and OS/2 users (or Klingons and Earthlings, if you prefer). This is of course silly.

Here is the address of the LW newsgroup if you have more questions: comp.graphics.apps.lightwave

I hope I will not be flamed by my fellow 3DS users for this post - I am still a hard-core 3D Studio maniac!!!

IN YOST WE TRUST!