Bill, yeah I was VERY disappointed that Canon put that damn bulbous un-removeable mike on the A1, ala the Sony... It would be such a nice camera if you could strip it, since, in my case, I would probably never use that mike anyway (not that it's bad, probably. it's just that I have several much better ones and would use them). It was a deal-killer for me.. I was going to get one as a backup.. Course you could always break out the Sawzall...

I just got my camera in today. It appears there are little screws underneath, and you could probably take off the mic if if you wanted. It doesn't bother me, though I'll probably never use it.