How to grab a picture from a camera?

I'm looking for a solution which will allow me to grab a picture from any camera (or many cameras at the same time) connected to the PC running under Windows. This solution should be provided with API so I could somehow control the Video with it's resolution, quality开发者_开发百科 etc.

I'm not sure where to look for...

I prefer free solution, however those with reasonable prices would be also much appreciated. Do you know any, if so are You able to point it's strengths and weaknesses?

Most scanners and cameras support WIA, which is probably a good place to start. There are plenty of examples of how to use WIA in .net, so I would start there and see if they meet your requirements.