It seems that manufacturers can't stop making new mirrorless camera models. In January I predicted that 2011 was going to be the year of the mirrorless camera and while these small interchangeable lens critters haven't entirely caught on in the United States, they are all the rage in Japan. MILC stories have been littering the technophile sites like engadget, gizmodo, and other various photo blogs/forums. So when I got a chance to get my hands on some of the most recent mirrorless cameras, I naturally wanted to test them against each other. Up until recently I've been very positive about MILCs because the technology in itself has tremendous upside. Getting quality that is exponentially better than a point and shoot camera in a much smaller camera body than a DSLR is an easy sell in my opinion. The first generation of a new technology, photography related or not, is never going to be perfect. So early on I was a little bit more forgiving in my critique of MILCs. Just like the fixed-lens wonder aka the Fuji X100, I really enjoyed the idea of MILCs, but thought there were a few kinks to work out. After a couple years I am disheartened to say that these improvements haven't happened far quickly enough. I reviewed the E-PL1, GH2, and NEX-5 in 2010, so let's see how far Olympus, Panasonic, and Sony have come. Now, I am not reviewing based purely on specs, but more ease of operation and overall experience. The Sony NEX C3, Panasonic GF3, and Olympus E-P3 were my cameras of choice for this test. Regardless of what some people will argue, I will never consider these small cameras to be professional tools, so I think it is best to test cameras in a realistic environment. I took all three cameras into New York City and took them for a typical tourist run around. For the most part I see mirrorless cameras as tourist/hobbyist cameras or occasionally a professional's choice over a normal point and shoot. Trust me carrying a heavy DSLR around all day isn't as fun as you think it is and it certainly doesn't make you look cool. So while I may have some reservations about MILCs, there is huge potential. I would love a small camera that produces high quality images, but I haven't found the perfect match yet. Such is life... Anyway, check back tomorrow for my review on our first contender, the Sony NEX C3. With its big APS-C sensor it should blow away the competition.