best pad and pen for photoshop?

[Allen in Montreal]

My daughter would like a pad and pen setup to replace her mouse.

Any suggestions for the best unit / cost ratio?

The apple store here only shows the Bamboo Intuos4. It is rather large to carry to school.

The Wacom Bamboo Fun Pen and Touch (Medium) looks more practical for a student.

Any thoughts or other suggestions would be a big help.

[Preston]

Allen,

For student use, the Fun pen and tablet would appear to be the best bet. The Intuos-4 products are excellent, but more expensive and are primarily designed for desktop use. I have an Intuos-4 and love it!

In my opinion, you can't go wrong with Wacom products.

--P

[uniB]

I've recently got a Wacom Bamboo Pen and Touch (my 3rd attempt at getting on with a graphics tablet!) and it's great, very small and easy to carry about, it comes with a case too. Really good to use - I can't believe I used to dust spot with a mouse - it's so much easier with the Wacom.

[Frank Petronio]

The Wacom Bamboo for $99 is everything almost any photographer would need, the Intuos is nicer but also overkill.

[Jim Michael]

I've got a Bamboo I'm not using, if interested send me a PM. I installed it and decided a pen isn't for me so it's in like new condition.

[Brian Ellis]

I agree with Frank, I have an Intuos 3 and never have found a need or use for any of its features except the pen tool.

[gnuyork]

I have not used the bamboo, but I have an older Intuos 2 that I like a lot. I also don't use any of the features, but back in the day the Intuos had more levels of pressure versus the lower models (graphire) - I did find this useful and felt like the intuos was overall a more refined tool for doing PS work. It's also fantastic for working in InDesign.

[Allen in Montreal]

Thank you gents,
she has opted for the smaller Bamboo as she wants to stuff it in her back pack when going to labs at school.