The EOS 300D's plastic body is just one of the elements used to reduce the cost of the camera, others include the use of a pentamirror in the viewfinder instead of a pentaprism, a reduction of features (although I feel that much of this is simply firmware crippling) and a shifting of manufacturing from Japan to Taiwan. Additionally Canon say that they have altered the production process of the CMOS sensor to reduce costs.

To give the camera more consumer appeal Canon has also replaced the EOS 10D's neutral image parameters with a new default set called 'Parameter 1' which defines Contrast, Saturation...