I have the Brother SE270D and have been very happy with it. It was my "daily driver" for about 6 years, withstood pretty heavy use. I didn't use it as much for embroidery as I did for piecing and garment sewing. I may be wrong, but I think you can additionally purchase a 5x5 hoop for it. I have since acquired a Janome 1600 and a Brother 1500, so I don't use the "baby brother" as my daily driver anymore, but I do use it for buttonholes, zig-zag, etc.