If you don't have any specific reason to go with the 350D, have you
considered the Nikon D50 instead?

I consider the D50 to be a better performer for the price, especially
with the Nikkor 18-70 which is a much better lense than Canons 18-55.

Many people also agree the little Rebel XT/350D is too small and not
that comfortable to hold - which is a very important aspect and should
not be overlooked. Make sure you handle several models before you lay
down your money.

Close focus distance is about 5-6" from the front of the lense at 55mm,
which isn't too bad. But it's no macro lense as magnification is only
about 1:4 lifesize. I suppose it all depends on your needs though and it
may be good enough.

The Canon XT/350D is a great camera (I have one).

It has lots of features and is capable of excellent image quality. Good
lenses makes a big difference with any camera, so if you can afford
better glass it's a good idea to opt for something better than the kit
lense.

I have a 350D/XT and would suggest that if you decide on this model you
buy it *without* the kit lens and instead of get a better lens.
I made the big mistake of buying a Canon EOS-300 (35mm film) with the
kit lens and have been pretty disappointed. Back then I had no idea the
choice of lens meant so much, but when you think about it it makes
sense. The lens *is* actually the camera. The camera body merely
"records" what you look at through the lens, so if you get a bad image
to begin with the camera body will record a bad image no matter how
good the actual camera is.

I'm really not in the position to determine how good or bad the kit
lens (or any other lens for that matter) is, but visit your local
camera store and ask them if you can try out the EOS-350D with the kit
lens, try to zoom in and out, focus press the button half-way down),
focus at objects close and far away, see how quickly it locks on the
subject.
Does the lens "wiggle" if you touch it, or does it seem firm and
precise?

I found the kit lens of my EOS-300 to be very badly made. Very wiggly.
If I wanted to manually focus it would go out of focus by just touching
it. The same thing when using a polarizing filter; by merely adjusting
the filter the lens would go out of focus.

On the other hand, I've heard some people say that it's a totally
decent lens and take "OK" pictures, so it depends who you ask.

Anyway, once you've tried the EOS-350D with the kit lens in the store,
ask them to exchange the lens with say something at the complete other
end of the spectrum; an "L" lens from Canon, which is what the pros
use. Try it out the same way so you can get a feel of the difference in
build and focusing speed. I don't know if you'd see an optical
difference right away when simply testing like this, but you will
definitely get a different total impression.

Personally, I ended up with a Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 lens. I needed
something that gave me good results, it had to be well built, a
versatile zoom-range for most situations (an "allround", "everyday"
lens) and shouldn't cost too much. So far I'm very happy with it
although I probably don't know what I'm missing if I had bought a
professional "L" lens to begin with, but I do know that I'd miss a lot
of my money if I went that route ;-)

I suggest you spend some time figuring out what you need. Use google to
search for lens and camera tests. That's what I did and resulted in my
choice.
To conclude; I'm very happy with my setup so far (i've had it for a
little over a month and am starting to understand how to use the manual
settings creatively although i see this takes a lot of practice). And
having only a 35mm film SLR (and 35mm compact camera) to compare with,
this is a *huge* difference!! Getting the results right away has opened
up a completely new world to me! And for the first time I'm really
getting to learn how to use a camera because of that.

Oh, if you do get the EOS-350D/Rebel XT, do yourself a favour and get
the Magic lantern guide for it as the Canon manual is nothing more than
a reference leaflet at best. OK for someone who's used to SLRs, but if
you're new to it all you need something better. Here's a link to that
book at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/157990761X/qid=1152694501/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102
-8829733-7886523?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

And if you're new to photography in general I suggest you also get
"Understanding exposure"
(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0817463003/sr=8-1/qid=1152694461/ref=pd_bbs_1/1
02-8829733-7886523?ie=UTF8)
. It's definitely helped me along the way, explaining the relationship
between shutter speed and aperture and how to use them in different
situations. Easy to read and right to the point with plenty of photos
to illustrate what he's talking about.

Good luck with your choice!