Just ordered my first tablet!

I decided to give a tablet a try for editing and possibly trying painting and drawing. Everyone seems to really like the Wacom tablets so that is what I went for. Originally I was going to get a Wacom Bamboo Create. Seemed good but some people complained of not having the tilt feature and it felt rough which made the nibs wear down faster. So magically I received a card from my in-laws for my birthday with some money inside . So I went ahead and ordered the Intuos 5 medium. Of course by the time it gets here I will be gone for two weeks on vacation..... .

Did I make the right choice in going with the Intuos? I know many people say that a Bamboo is good for a first tablet... but I hate getting something and then wanting to upgrade a few months later.

I use a Bamboo and it was the best thing I ever did for my hands. I don't think you can really go wrong with any of the Wacom products.

I started with a borrowed Bamboo and when they made me give it back I went and bought an Intuous 4. Love it so much better than the Bamboo because the ring makes it so much easier resizing your brush and zooming in and out on the fly. You can customize everything to your liking.

I like to draw with pencil and paper with my sketchbook in my lap so that is how I like to work on the tablet as well. The only difference is you have to look at the screen instead of where your pen (on tablet) is so it does take just a little getting used to. Since you are going on vacation you could use a pen and paper just a few mins each day (on any down time you get) and either close your eyes or look out the window and write your name or draw a little picture without looking at the paper until you are done. This will give you the same "feel" but will actually make transition easier when you get home because on the computer you will be able to see what you are doing on the screen as you do it.

Don't worry, you will love it once you get used to it and it is soooo much easier doing detail work than with a mouse. Hope this was of some help.

I would never go back to doing editing with a mouse having used the bamboo for a couple of years. It is just way more intuitive and natural after about 1hr (if even that long!)