I've had the A95 for about 2 months now and I've been extremely pleased. It is one of those rare cameras that can serve as an excellent and simple point-and-shoot(for my wife) or can be used in such a way so as to satisfy people wanting more control over their photography(for me!). I have owned and used several digital cameras(mostly Nikon, Olympus, and Kodak) and I am continually awed by the amount of options that this camera allows you to mess with to get your perfect picture.
A few comments on some of the many benefits of the A95:
Picture quality. This camera has great picture quality. What more can I say? I suppose there is some of that famed Canon "purple-fringing" but it is never really an issue for me and the kinds of pictures I generally take.
Vari-angle LCD. I was a little skeptical of the swivel "Vari-angle" LCD probably because I thought it would be flimsy or just be a hassle, but now I don't think I could ever own another camera that doesn't have it. It gives you so many options! You can just flip the LCD around to be used just like any other digital camera, or you can maneuver it to take perfectly-aimed photos from above your head, or holding it to your side, or to take a picture of yourself, or even to look around a corner;). Even if you only use it to turn the LCD inward to protect the screen when you store the camera, this feature is worth the money.
Uses AA batteries. You can buy rechargable AAs and a charger, but you also have the freedom to not have to use expensive propritary batteries. Our batteries went dead while sight-seeing on vacation, so we just bought a pack of AAs at the first store we saw. It's hard to think of any store that doesn't sell AA batteries.
5 MP. This camera is such a great value for a 5 megapixel camera. When I was shopping for a new camera, I figured I'd have to settle for 3 or 4 MPs for the price range I was looking for. My 8 x 10s look amazing!
Compact Flash Cards. This still seems to be one of the cheapest formats of flash storage media and it also seems to be the sturdiest. SD is smaller, but generally more expensive and flimsier. MS is proprietary to Sony so nobody else uses them. I'm able to use CF cards for many things other than just my camera so they are an even bigger value to me.
Fast startup and picture taking.
Well-written and easy-to-understand manual.
Some relatively minor gripes:
It is rather large and heavy for a point-and-shoot camera. The weight doesn't bother me at all and I'm willing to sacrifice smaller size for more functions/control.
CF cover is flimsy and kind of tricky to close. You get the hang of it, but I still worry I'll accidentally break it one of these days. The camera won't operate if the CF door is open(although it seems you could easily "trick" the camera into thinking the door is closed). While I worry about this, I've yet to hear of anyone actually breaking it.
Battery cover is also a little awkward to close, but it's not flimsy where I think it'll break or anything.
In short, this is a great all-around camera that offers you a lot of control over your pictures. In this price range, no other camera even comes close.
