You can get by with Bamboo; however, you asked "which tablet works best."
rogerwilco wrote:
wow some of those tablets are very expensive are they really needed or will the cheaper versions work just as good for use with paint brush tools ?
Reading between the lines here but if you know very little about these devices it really doesn't matter that much for a starter. I'd get a middle of the road one and see how it works out. If you really like it and plan on a lot of use then at some point upgrade to one of the high end tablets.
and dont be tempted to get the larger models. Most photo retouching can be done w/ the small ones (since it's all done w/ the wrist, not the arm & elbow)