Funny thing, when I bought my Wacom, I was doing very well with the mouse.  I wanted to have a more natural feel to my strokes. 

Well, it took a year before I really did anything with it. I felt a bit intimidated.  Then, one day, I picked it up and it felt great.  I haven't gone back to using the mouse 100% of the time.  I do use it for some fast touch, but I really prefer the tablet to the mouse.

I would advise anyone starting out to just dive in and don't be intimidated.

Also, to be a bit more specific for muller252, the size of the tablet depends on how you make strokes.  If you use long swashes of strokes, like going across most of a canvas, you may want a larger one.  However, I find the 6 x 8 a good fit.  I suppose that for someone who does minute detailed strokes, a smaller screen would be sufficient.

That said, working in PS with Navigator, you can zoom out to cover more space with a stroke, so I don't see why anything more than a 6x8" screen would be needed.  It may be more a personal preference issue for many.

“Music is harmony, harmony is perfection, perfection is our dream, and our dream is heaven”
Henri Frederic Amiel