I have been in the market for a new bridge-camera since Christmas. The good thing is that, I can wait a little, since I have decent gear that is working fine for me (10D, Canon S45 and a small Sony 3mp). I was ready to buy the 828, when it was hot--now it seems like an older model, war beaten, the halo is gone and it only took about 2 months of it sitting on the retail shelves. The A2 seems to be by far the winner in the super hot 8mp (2/3 chip) cameras that are emerging from all the major manufacturers.
I personally do not like the fully articulated LCDs and was tempted by the Canon Pro 1 for a little while, until I saw that "thing" sticking out the side. I want to look and shoot in the same line, not look 2" to the left of my subject matter and I know many of you are in agreement. I think Oly and Minolta have the right idea. Their LCDs are compact, professional and very elegant. I like that Canon is offering a higher pixel 2" LCD, but do not like the ergonomics of the camera, nor the lack of vertical grip.
Nikon not only has the fully articulated LCD, it doesn't offer a wide angel, nor a superior LCD, nor EVF. So Nikon for my money has totally lost the challenge. They do offer a vertical grip however.
Olympus on the other hand doesn't have the right combination of options to make the camera pro enough for my use. I think Oly is perhaps the most "consumer" oriented camera of the bunch. 5X zoom, no vertical, standard LCD and EVF.
Sony, well, I already covered that. It has become a pariah. It will soon sell for $600. And although some people initially liked it for its resolution, and even took the camera on a Safari or two, that was before the rest of the manufacturers put their cards on the table.
Minolta, should be complimented. I never really noticed them in the past, and sorry to say, was never really a fan. But as I get to know the A1 and now the A2, I am very impressed at the amount of attention and focus to detail that has been invested in their top of the line gear. The A2, may not have the sharpest lens in the group, but it has almost 1 meg EVF, vertical grip, the right kind of LCD (not important if it's not the largest of the bunch or the highest in resolution, since they got the EVF right), accepts studio flash, it is so incredibly compact in size, it is almost 30-40% smaller than the Sony, it has anti-shake, automatically selectable EVF/LCD function and 30fps video. These guys should be awarded. You can't get any better.
I am certain that Michael will pick A2 as the winner of the bunch.
Kudos to Minolta (now KonicaMinolta).