Relief carvings

Hello,
I'm getting very close to completing my cnc router table and was
wondering what software is out there that will let me scan an image
and convert to g code. Is there a lot of code manipulation needed to
get a quality carving? I'm hoping there is something out there that
works good and doesn?t cost an arm and leg ($500 or less)... after all
this is a hobby.

I have played a little with demo version of Master5 to get my motors
turning and that seems pretty straight forward. How well does the jpg
conversion to g code work for what I described above.

Also what type/size of router bit works best for relief carvings?
Thanks for your input.
Regards,
Don