Wacom Tablet

Hi, i am thinking of buying the "Drawing in Photoshop CS4" video tutorial. I notice that it mentions using a Wacom Tablet. I have had a look at those available and notice a huge difference in prices for various makes. Now, i am new to photoshop, and a bit loath to spend a lot of money on initial outlay. However, I don't want to get something at the cheap end of the market only to find that it is useless. Having read a few reviews i was thinking of buying the low-mid priced "Wacom Bamboo A5 Fun Medium Graphics Tablet ". I would really appreciate any info you could give regarding this product. Will it be ok/poor/too much? Thanks in advance.

The Bamboo is a good inexpensive tablet. I use its predecessor, the Graphire, when I am traveling and presenting.

There is more fine control available using the Intuos series but they are significantly more expensive and you probably won't need it.

I prefer the smaller tablets as it's easier and more comfortable for my hand to travel the shorter distances, but it means that you will need to zoom in on the images for very fine control.

Cheers for that Jim. I really appreciate your reply. It does sound like it will be ok for what i need it for, but it is always nice to get feedback from someone who knows.

While it might be a bit out of your budget range, Wacom has just introduced the new Intuos4 tablet line, with a range of sizes and price points. It's worth considering also IMO, as the smaller version is not that expensive, relatively speaking.

This tablet provides the most control in a graphic arts environment and also has some additional controls on the side, like a wheel that can take advantage of Photoshop's zoom, rotate and brush sizing controls, without using the keyboard.

It's also an ambidextrous tablet, meaning unlike other models you can just flip it around and use it just as easily left-handed as right.

http://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Intuos4-Small-Pen-Tablet/dp/B001TUYTZM/