I was wondering if this camera would be totally compatible with FCP 5.1.2, especially in PAL frame rates... 1080i50 and 1080 25F (it does have a 25 frame ''progressive'' mode, right?).

I'm considering trading my JVC HD-100, for the A1, would it be a good decision? Are the settings tweakable, in terms of black stretch/compress, knee,gamma,color matrix,etc?

I'm not used to ''small'' cameras... is it easy to adjust the iris manually, for instance, in a camera like this?

Thanks in advance for your input on this!

Yes, FCP 5.1.2 is totally compatible with the XH A1, NTSC or PAL. The settings are more tweakable than the XL H1.

Go here (http://www.dvinfo.net/canonxh/index.php) to see photos of the controls.