The 350D has been my primary workhorse as a serious amateur photography for the last 7years and still going strong. Despite being 'out of date' having been superseded by later models if you have the chance to pick one up do so. You will pay more for models such as the 400D and 450D however other than the increase in sensor pixel count (which unless you are printing BIG you doubtfully will need) they are near identical, providing the same ISO ranges (see below), focus point configuration and build format. I have hiked, backpacked and spent 6 months on the road hitch hiking around Europe and Oz with this and its certainly had its fair share of knocks and still functioning fine.

Specs: Recommeded reading http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/canon/canon_ eos350d.asp for details about this model
Difference in pixel count as suggested above:
350D - 8.2 megapixel (effective = 8MP)
400D - 10.5MP (effective = 10.1 MP)
450D - 12.4MP (effective = 12.2 MP)

ISO range = 100 - 1600. This is the level of sensitivity to like the chip has, the higher the number the more sensitive to light the chip is however this can lead to grainier images, optimum for this camera is around 400-800.

Have used this in conjunction with standard EF-S and L series lenses and has produced great results from both. As a fan of HDR (high dynamic range, incorporating under and over exposed images into often high contrast imagary) I use the bracket features (ability to shoot under and over exposed images) with manual settings a lot, a must for anyone that wants to truely explore the capabilities of this world. I have used this at low light music concert shoots, outdoor sunny wedding shoots and long exposures and it handled all these without much in the way of complaints.

Like all DSLR this will shoot in RAW (uncompressed images) and JPGS in different sizes, suggest if you are interested in post processing in any form stick to RAW as the onboard conversion to JPG is not as good as doing the same on a PC/MAC. It is worth investing in a good high transfer rate memory card (this model uses Compact Flash/CF cards) and purchasing a spare battery to avoid running out mid shoot, usually lasting 400-700 or so actuations depending on the amount of reviewing on the screen you do.

Would have liked to see a larger screen at the back, something later models maginally have however personally do not believe this is worthy of splashing out the extra on. Although this machine is now discontinued in production and high street sales there are still a fair number of them second hand on the scene and a good bargin can be found.