At school, we have these Graphire tablets at school. And it made my job in Photoshop really easy. So, one day, I decided to pick one up so that I can do Photoshop work in the comfort of my own home. And I'm happy to say that this product has been the most worthwhile investment in my digital photo equipment.

What You Need
-Any PC/Mac with available USB ports

In the Box
In the Graphire box was the tablet, a wireless mouse, a wireless pen, and a Software CD. Contrary to popular belief, the "wireless" features of the devices aren't like the wireless keyboards out on the market-- you have to keep the pen or mouse on the tablet for it to work. This disappointed me, since I thought I'd be able to put the computer monitor output to my TV and use my mouse from my bed. However, those issues are minor for me.

Ease of Use
For me, I've used similar Wacom products in my photo class at school, so I know how to maneuver around the screen with a pen. But for your average Joe who has never seen this device before, there is a steep learning curve. I've seen my friends treat the pen like a mouse and when they get to the edge of the tablet, pick up the pen and move it to the center, like a person does when his/her mouse reaches the end of the mouse-pad. But, as with many other products in this world, once you get the hang of it, it's easy to control.

Features
The no-frills mouse comes with a scroll wheel on the mouse so that you can scroll on web pages and the like. However, my scroll wheel doesn't work. Some people don't have problems with their scroll wheel though, so I assume I'm just an isolated incident.

The pen is pressure sensitive. Let's say you're working in Photoshop and you use the pen tool. If you lightly brush the tablet with the pen, the result is wispy lines on your Photoshop canvas. Push down hard, and you've got this gigantic blob taking over your canvas. The pen does a good job of mimicking pressure differentials of real art pens and brushes.

The 4x5 active area of the tablet is more than enough for Photoshop work. In school, we have 6x8 and 9x12 tablets, and to tell you the truth, I haven't seen any real need for that extra real estate.

Design and Durability
It's one of the few products that's built strong to last long. There have been many times where Photoshop crashes on me and in anger, threw my pen at my desk. The pen has survived each incident unscathed, although I don't recommend you throw your pen on a regular basis.

The mouse, though, feels cheap and lightweight. It serves more as a backup pointing device than anything else, since I tend to lose the pen a lot.

One gripe, though, is that the tablet will often kill my USB connections to all my USB peripherals. I have no clue how that happens, but I know for a fact that the tablet is the culprit. Sometimes when I'm mousing around online, the tablet will stop working, and all the other USB devices attached to my computer will stop working as well. I don't know if it's just my tablet or not, but it happens infrequently enough that it becomes just an annoyance than a blown-out problem.

Bottom Line
A Wacom tablet/pen combo, such as the Graphire2 that is reviewed here, is a must for anyone into digital photography, even for the novices. It'll make painting in programs like Photoshop look realistic instead of herky-jerky, like you'd experience when using a mouse. Also, this ranks high in the coolness factor for people who've never seen a product like this.

And at $100, it comes in at a nice price. Wacom also offers larger tablets if you desire-- just check out www.wacom.com.

Recommended: Yes