I've been on the Web. Even to the Autodesk site. I can't find a comparison of Maya and 3ds.

Can anyone give me a brief reason (other than cost) to use one over the other?

Maya tends to get used for film work and 3dsmax tends to get used for game development. So 'they' say .... not sure why exactly.

I've only used 3ds.

Google (http://www.google.com.au/search?q=%223D+Studio+Max%22+vs+Maya&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a) returns heaps of useful results...

Both Maya and 3D Studio Max achieve the same results at the end of the day...

Blender (http://www.blender.org/cms/Home.2.0.html) is a free option if you're interested...

I've played around with Maya and 3dsMax and I perfer 3dsMax. It is alot simpler to use and give you the same results. Maya seems to have alot more options to tweek the images you are rendering in the program while 3dsMax dosnt (but I am by not means an expert). Over the two I would go with 3dsMax, but I dont have any real defenative reason for that choice.

I have used Maya a little bit for certain projects but I use 3ds Max as my main program. I will say outright that I really do not like Maya very much. It is a more powerful character modeler and simulator for cloth, hair, particles etc. And you can definitely tweak your creation much more than with Maya. However I have always found it very counterintuitive ie. what you think it should do and what it actually does are two different things, it has a hugely steep learning curve, the interface is clunky (although it has been streamlined considerably with the new version just released). The caveat with all these programs (Maya, Lightwave, Max, Houdini) is that if you learn one most of your skills and knowledge do not carry over to a different program. In essence, you have to unlearn what you have learned and relearn it again from a different point of view. So if you pick one and get really good with it is difficult to change. So if your like me and really not a vfx guy but need a program that will get the job done quickly, look good, and doesn't take forever to get good, I would recommend 3ds Max. If you have no money get Blender as mentioned before.

Thanks for the input.

It seems that Maya may be the application for my intended use (video).

It seems that Maya may be the application for my intended use (video).
What is more correct to say is that Maya is better for simulations such as cloth and hair like the other guys said. I've used both and I completely agree Maya is VERY counter intuitive. If you NEED very realistic hair,cloth, skin, ect. simulations and have a ton of time to learn the app and have the artistic skill set to do what you want in a timely manner...then yes Maya is for you. If you just need some basic stuff in 3D, don't have a ton of time to master what Maya is better at, don't require softbody simulations as I mentioned before, then I would recommend 3Dsmax. I've used both in videos that I've done in the past, but prefered 3Dsmax as it took me about half the time to do some of the simple stuff I wanted in 3Dsmax that it would have taken me to do in Maya. If you can give us a little more detail into what you're trying to accomplish we could give you a clearer answer. (Both applications are now owned by the same company so I imagine they will eventually merge into one, but who knows!)