Best mirrorless camera (s)?

I've been looking at ones from Nikon, Panasonic, and Olympus and I'm still not sure which one I like the best. I'll be using it mainly for traveling.

Not a huge fan of dslr cameras because they're too big to carry around, I'm practically a beginner, and I don't think I'd use it very often.

Well size wise, the Nikon is certainly the smallest of the group

Have you spent any time in a proper camera store, holding each in your hands

That will tell you more than any of us.

What about Sony? The Sony NEX line is fantastic. You should check those out!

Don't be fooled by the size of the mirrorless cameras. The TV commercials make it seem like they can be carried in a pocket… They can't. As soon as you put a lens on them (and you have to do that if you're going to take a picture) they are immediately too big to fit in a pocket.

You would be much better with one of the newer large sensor point and shoot cameras like a Canon s100 or a Canon G1x. Both have full manual controls like the mirrorless cameras, but can actually be carried easily.

The Sony NEX series have the largest sensors and highest image quality. Panasonic G2 or G3 is the most SLR-like but they aren't much smaller than an entry level DSLR. The most affordable right now is the Olympus PEN E-Pl1. You should go to a camera store and try some out before making this kind of investment since they do cost a lot of money.

Olympus E-Pl1 is only $274 on Amazon right now btw - that's about the same as a fixed lens compact camera: http://www.amazon.com/...0035LBRJO/