Quote Originally Posted by Asylum Steve
I just want to note that a mask can be ANY kind of selection you want, from a razor-edged outline to an airbrushed, semi-transparent one. That's the beauty of the feature...

Hard edged brushes will give you a crisp edged mask, making it virtually identical to using one of the selection tools unfeathered (or path converted).

BTW, one thing a mask can do that cannot be done with any tool is select an area with one (or two) HARD edges and the rest softer or feathered. This can be very valuable in photo montage when you have an image element that goes to the edge of your frame.

Thanks Steve, I was about to write the very same thing.