I bought my A1 right when they were available, and I proceeded to take it with me to Africa to film a Safari. I did my best to keep it clean - I taped over the non-essential buttons and switches & kept a shirt over it when I wasn't filming to keep the dust from my new baby.

But alas, there seems to be some dust in my iris ring, keeping it from turning as smoothly as it did when I first got it, I was hoping that it would free up with more use in a clean environment but it hasn't.

Can Canon service clean this for me? I've heard they can clean the entire camera pretty well...

Anyone with experience in this? Is it worth sending in?

Haven't experienced this but I would send it in to Canon and get it cleaned. Having any kind of grit in moving parts can lead to more damage over time.