You can see the present revamping itself as the future unfolds into a brand new paradigm shift – mirrorless cameras. And of late, that’s about how I size the camera scenario up while shooting exclusively for the past 3 months with the smaller, yet more capable Nikon compacts.
Putting images side by side, I am unbiasedly putting Nikon 1 image quality slightly above both the Nikon D3100 and Nikon D5100 (as I own both cameras). The weight, form factor, subject intimidation factor, non-intrusiveness factor, speed of shutter release (easily at 10 FPS for Nikon 1), IQ, all seems to outweigh my major loss in the department of DOF only a bigger sensor can offer.
Compensating the above with a F/1.2 to F/1.4 seems to bring some of that loss back. The Nikon 1 can and will introduce wider, faster lenses in the next 6-12 months, cementing my belief is the future of photography.
Nikon Studio 