I have myself felt and used the A1 and my, it was impressive. However, all i did was simple shots and went through most of its functions and though it was my first time using it, I could navigate through all its controls easily. It definitly feels better than the older G5 which I have used before many times. I was looking at reviews giving good ratings of the A1 but those posts on the cons of the A1 made me feel worried and now I am really worried bout the red streaks appearing at the left side of the pic during high ISO . Other wise, I would have made my purchase already. Now I am left with only two choices, either the A1 or the new and almost ready Sony 828.