Since early 2008, the 350D has been remaindered. The 350D is an upgraded version of the Canon EOS 300D, which was the first sub-US$1000 digital SLR, introduced in 2003. There are some differences between the 350D and the 300D. Many of the features 'locked out' by Canon in the 300D were unlocked in this camera, so it has been subject to less unofficial 'hacking' to release the locked features. In addition to these unlocked features, a number of other improvements have been made. Some of the most significant upgrades include:
The Canon EOS 350D comes with Digital Photo Professional to be able to create JPEG or TIFF files from raw files. This was only available on Canon's professional cameras.
Issues
Canon had compatibility problems with the Lexar Professional 80x-speed Compact Flash cards which resulted in either total image loss, or the camera freezing up. In the cases of the camera freezing, the images may still be retrieved using an external CF card reader. The camera will interpret the presence of a hot shoe protector as the presence of an auxiliary flash attachment thereby disabling the built-in pop-up flash. Removing the hot shoe protector will re-enable the built-in flash. A micro-switch in the hot-shoe senses the presence of the flash. When using third party lenses, most notably older Sigma lenses, there may be a compatibility issue. Reports exist of people receiving "Err99" errors when using such lenses. The problem is more pronounced when using older lens that do not feature an HSM focus drive. Using the problematic lens with its largest aperture is sometimes possible. Another cause of Err99 messages involve EF-S 18–55 lenses that are defective; purchasing used EF-S 18–55 lenses is a risk factor, especially from eBay auctions. Some auction listings state that the lens was never used – especially those claiming that the lens was originally part of an EOS 400D kit; the best way is to verify the serial numbers indicating the manufacture date.
Firmware updates
The latest firmware released by Canon for the EOS 350D is version 1.0.3. It fixes problems relating to remote release cables, as well as a problem while reviewing saved images.
