ZBrush Core vs ZBrush - experience and thoughts?

I wanted to start dorking around with ZBrush to see if it gave me a better sculpting experience over Blender. As ZBrush is $900 and ZBrush Core is $180 - I figured core would be the lesser of two evils in terms of eating costs if I couldn't use it well.

I know they have a comparison chart but honestly a lot of that is over my head at this stage. So my question is simply can you create decent 3d models in zbrush core that can then be ported over to blender for animation? Or are you gimped pretty hard and need the full license to really get whats needed?

 

This really depends on what you want to achieve. For stylized props and characters, Zbrush Core is sufficient most of the time.
The sculpting is definitely a lot more satisfying in Zbrush, than in Blender. Alone the performance is miles ahead.

However, if you plan to make more realistic props and characters, Zbrush Core lacks too many features. Things like layers, Zremesher, polygroups and custom brushes, are essential for that.
Pixologic offers also a trial version of Zbrush. So you could give it a try, before buying.