Canon EOS 350D Review

Good Points
Flexibility of operation - fully automatic or total user control
Image quality and size
Instant capture - none of the delays of compact digital cameras

Bad Points
None that really matter
Cannot use the LCD as a viewfinder - have to look through the eyepiece (this is a consequence of the SLR design).

General Comments
Like many people, I converted from film SLR's to Digital Compacts, and lost a lot of my enthusiasm for taking photographs - too much "point and shoot". After various non-SLR digital cameras, I moved up to a full SLR with the Canon EOS 350D in April 2005. Fantastic!! It has restored my love for photography. And it has a great to feel the mechanical "clunk" of a proper SLR again.



Some people say the camera is too small - I strongly disagree. I have large hands and never find it a problem.



It allows the full creativity of SLR photography, or total automation if that's what you want. It consistently produces perfect images (subject to the limitations of the photographer!).



I swapped the standard kit lens (which was perfectly good) for the 17-85mm IS lens, giving a longer zoom range - perfect for everyday use, and also Image Stabilisation, which is superb. This is a large heavy lens which some might regard as overpowering on this small light camera, but I'm happy with it.



High ISO speeds (up to 1600) are useful, and noise is acceptably low at these high settings. There are 4 quick access buttons on the camera to change ISO, Focus, white balance and metering modes - which means you can easily change the ISO for each shot you take - a massive advantage over film cameras.



Pixels DO count. Even if you don't think you need as many as 8MP; you do, because it means you can crop an image down and you still have enough pixels to give excellent image quality. Great for wildlife shots.



Overall, highly recommended. I cannot really fault it at all.