Product Reviews

Canon's EOS 350D is the successor to the enormously popular 300D, the first affordable digital SLR and winner of a MacUser Award last year. As such, expectations for the new 350D are understandably high, and at first glance it certainly delivers many improvements: it's smaller, lighter, much faster and sports an extra two megapixels -and that's just for starters.

Taking the resolution first, the 350D employs a new 8 megapixel CMOS sensor, delivering 22.8MB images (uncompressed) with 3456 x 2304 pixels and sufficient detail to be reproduced at 10 x 8in at 300dpi. Observant camera enthusiasts will note this is fractionally less than the EOS 20D's 8.2 megapixels, although the difference in resolving power is barely measurable.

The main difference between the 20D and 350D sensors is the speed at which they can read data, allowing the former to enjoy a faster burst mode of 5fps. That said, the 350D is no slouch, capturing 3fps in continuous mode, with a decent buffer of 14 frames, which is a big improvement over the three frame/2.5fps capability of the 300D.

Like other DSLRs at this price range, the 350D employs an APS-C sized sensor, which is smaller than a frame of 35mm film. As such, while it can use any EF or EF-S lens, all have their focal lengths effectively multiplied by 1.6 times. This means the optionally bundled 18-55mm f3.5~5.6 EF-S lens effectively performs like a 29-88mm zoom.

Interestingly, this lens now carries a II badge, although optically it's identical to the model supplied with the original 300D. It's incredibly light and adds only £50 to the cost of the body alone, yet performs surprisingly well for the price. Disappointingly, though, Canon has opted not to supply the Ultra Sonic Motor (USM) version of the lens, as bundled in Japan and with the UK black 300D special edition; this version focuses a little faster and more quietly. Those who use polarising filters should also note the front element of the 18-55mm lens (USM or otherwise) rotates as it focuses.

Images are recorded onto Compact Flash memory cards, and you need to supply your own. There's a choice of three resolutions and two Jpeg settings

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for each, with best-quality Jpegs measuring around 3.5MB. There's also a Raw mode with the option of recording a separate Jpeg; Raw files can be processed using bundled Canon software.

You compose and focus your shots using the optical viewfinder, which is noticeably brighter than the 300D's. The main colour screen remains 1.8in, though, which seems slightly mean considering many models now boast a 2in display. On the upside, image playback is faster than the 300D.

The 350D is seriously compact - only just beaten by the Pentax *istDS to becoming the smallest DSLR available. It's comfortably the lightest, at just 724g including the 18-55mm lens. Much of this size and weight reduction is down to the smaller battery, although more efficient processing means battery life remains pretty much the same as the 300D.

Despite its size, weight and price, the 350D feels well built and considerably more robust than its predecessor. The smaller grip is comfortable to hold, although those with bigger hands may prefer to fit the optional battery grip, which also provides portrait aspect controls. The 350D is easy to use, although you can sometimes press its relocated self-timer/drive button with yournose.

The 350D has auto, program, manual, shutter and aperture priority modes, along with the choice of five scene presets. Shutter speeds range from 1/4000-30 seconds with a bulb option, while sensitivity can be set from 100 to 1600 ISO. The pop-up flash is taller than the 300D's, and there's now rear-curtain and flash compensation options. Other new features include mirror-lockup, the choice of SRGB and Adobe RGB colour spaces, white balance bracketing and a black-and-white mode with the choice of four digital colour filters.

In use, the 350D handles very quickly. It starts in just 0.2 seconds, and is noticeably faster in every aspect. The image quality is excellent, matching the 20D and measurably out-resolving six megapixel DSLRs without any compromise in noise levels - indeed, it's virtually noise-free at 400 ISO. The same DiGiC II image processor as used on Canon's Pro DSLRs ensures natural-looking results.

Ultimately, it's hard to find many faults, although we'd have preferred a larger screen and the USM lens bundle. More demanding photographers may still choose the 20D for it's magnesium alloy body, rubber finish, flash sync port and faster burst capture. However, at £799 including lens, the 350D is a hard act to beat; indeed, it's already less than £700 on discount websites.

Canon has seriously raised the bar with the EOS 350D, proving once and for all that a consumer-priced digital SLR can enjoy professional performance.

Needs: Mac OS X 10.1.5 or later + USB port or CF card reader