At 30 frames per second, Kodak’s DVC323 USB digital video camera is easily the best available. Ridiculously easy to install, this $150 camera delivers superior picture quality with ease, and is ideal whether you intend to use it for business videoconferencing or simply to fool around with.

Intel’s Create & Share camera pack includes a PC imaging camera that plugs into your USB port, with a focus dial, a sliding lens cover and a snapshot button for still pictures. The extensive software package including Intel Video Phone, for video-conferencing over the Internet on regular phone lines, PictureWorks NetCard to design your own email postcards with photos or short video messages, and PictureWorks PhotoEnhancer for enhancing captured images. At $125, this is a very comprehensive software pack coupled with a decent-performance camera.

At $80, this USB model delivers faster frame rates, sharper images, and comes with more software than the original WebCam. The WebCam II also offers a complete video-conferencing package, with a Plantronics earpiece, microphone, and Creative Labs' Video WebPhone. The WebCam II is, however, fully compatible with Microsoft's NetMeeting & Intel's Internet VideoPhone, just to name a couple. Easy and fun to use, the WebCam II is a bargain at the price.