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G'day Martin, the Canon 350D is really quite ok for Astro-imaging, but like any other imaging option it has plusses and minuses. It is fairly cheep comparitively speaking, has good sensitivity, even with the IR blocking filter intact. It is supported by very high quality S/w 'Images plus and MaxDslr to name just 2.
The sensor is much larger that a webcam or the Meade DSIs etc and the pixel size is very competitive.
As for changing the IR filter for a better, higher cutoff one, that is probably only beneficial if you wanted to get the best out of emission Nebula, but really the difference is not all that compelling. Sure you will get better red response without the native filter, but then you might need to add another filter to the moded 350D if you want to use it for daylight terestrial work.
On the down side the 350D seems to be not the best pixel size wise for wide field astro-imaging, with most images showing undersampleing, but it is for wide field work that the lager sensor is so appealing.
Others might not entirely agree with my comments, and that is ok because I have no hands on with the 350D for astro imaging. Mine will probably never get closer that 3 meters to my scopes, because when I get my scopes back on line, I'll use the ST10mxe.
So far I am very pleased with my 350D and recomend it. You will find it much much more than just a 'good' entry level imager for astro-imaging, you will find it excellent, and as you advance in the hoby, you will know first hand if you want to proceed with the filter mod or not.
HTH
cheers,
Doug
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