webcam postprocessing ?

Does any one know of a utility to change a webcam image in real time ?
I have this really cheap webcam, to get an image bright enough to see any thing I have to have my room very bright. So bright I have to wear sunglasses. rolleyes So basically I'm looking for a way to brighten the image in software. I'm thinking of opening it up and preforming some kind of hard mod, but I thought I might as well post here before I take a soldering iron to it.