Graphics Tablet

Wacom's Bamboo series will probably meet your needs just fine.

A few notes on tablets -

1. Some people have a little trouble getting used to how the pen works. You don't need to "scroll" your pen to get from one side of the screen to the other like you do with a mouse - wherever you put the pen, it goes. The active area of the tablet will match your screen. So, you can tap your pen in the upper right corner of the tablet and it will move the cursor at the upper right corner of your screen. Bring the pen (hovering just above the tablet) to any other part of the active area and the cursor will follow.

Suggestion: If you get a tablet, put your mouse AWAY and just get used to how the pen navigates your screen's area. (I haven't willingly used a mouse for anything in almost 15 years now.)

2. Think of the pen as just another input device. It is definitely a plus when image editing since it makes painting (either directly or on a mask) and selecting more precise. There's a reason some pen users call a mouse "soap on a rope". Anyway, the pen can be used for any input on your computer.

3. Notice the "rocker switch" on the side of the pen. By default, one end of this switch is set for "right click" (tapping your pen on the tablet once or quickly twice - depends upon your computer settings - is a "left click"). You can program both ends of the switch to do what YOU want them to do.

I second the suggestion that getting a small tablet is just fine. Bigger is not necessarily better unless you are sketching with it. No matter what the size, the active area will "map" to your screen.

Enjoy!

Libby