You can do all of the Data Acquisition with the DAQ ActiveX controls in Visual Basic that come with the NI-DAQ driver software. You don't need Measurement Studio unless you need user interface T&M elements (graphs, knobs, LEDs, etc.), analysis libraries (signal processing, mathematics, etc.), or networking tools like DataSocket. There are many examples of programming DAQ with the ActiveX controls that will install with NI-DAQ if you install Visual Basic support.
Best Regards,
Chris Matthews
National Instruments