Is 'real crop' a possibility? Ok, this is the first time I need this, but here's my question:

If crop is selected for a transition, what you get is a scaleAndCrop. Is there a way to do a 'real' crop, so no resizing before cropping?
Currently, no.

It is on our list to open us the asset transformation pipeline so that plugins can add new transforms that go beyond what is available out of the box in Craft, though.