Labs

The EOS 350D's performance is excellent, capturing two shots a second for 20 shots, after which our MicroDrive started to slow things down. Even with the flash enabled, the 350D can shoot a picture every second. The relatively low-capacity battery managed to survive for 651 shots on a single charge.

The camera's controls are straightforward and responsive. A single command dial controls aperture,

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shutter speed and exposure compensation, but the button to toggle between them isn't ideally placed, being right under the nose when looking through the viewfinder. The menu navigation buttons double as short cuts to ISO, auto-focus, white balance and metering modes, but this means they stop being short cuts when the menu is open. Spot focusing is well implemented, but spot metering is absent, as is exposure lock. Exposure compensation goes only to +/-2 EV, although this is plenty for most situations.

The 350D produced the best image quality in this test. Automatic settings usually gave excellent exposures, though the white balance sometimes needed a little help. Best of all was the incredibly sharp detail, revealing subtle skin textures that other cameras glossed over. Noise was minimal at high ISO settings, with usable results at ISO 1,600. Shots taken at high ISO speeds weren't quite as detailed.

This is an extremely impressive camera, especially at this price.