Yeah, the fancy plastic patterns are something completely different. It has a stylus that locks into the board, and you just move the machine along to follow that pattern. I imagine the final result is more consistent, but the downside is that a) it's really expensive, and b) they don't have that many boards, so you don't have a lot of choice to work from!
Pantographs are just paper rolls that you buy from sites, that generally range in price from $10 - $20. Sometimes you can buy the electronic version, and print it out yourself -- this is good, because than you can resize the pantograph. And you're exactly right -- you use a laser in conjunction with them and follow along the pattern. It takes some practice, for sure, but I really like it because free-motion quilting makes me nervous...I can't think that quickly ;) But this gives me something to follow; little or no thought required.
Some pantograph sites to check out:
http://www.quiltscomplete.com/
https://www.canadianlongarmsupplies....ex.php?crn=232
http://www.urbanelementz.com