If you’ve been following the blog lately, you probably already know that we’re pretty enamored with Sony’s NEX-7, an MILCs, and while we can praise it until we’re blue in the face, it doesn’t change the fact that you aren’t going to find it anywhere – at least, not for a while. Thailand flooding has unfortunately upset Sony’s supply lines, and it looks like the NEX-7 won’t be available until April. So what can you do if you don’t want to wait that long (or if you simply don’t like the NEX line)? Well, we’ve got a list of some great alternative MILCs that’ll get the job done.

1: Fujifilm X-Pro1

Rather than sit on the waiting list in hopes of getting the NEX-7 when it’s available in April, you may want to take a look at what Fujifilm has to offer. The X-Pro1 is expected to be released in February and offers an excellent combination of manual and automatic controls, all wrapped up in a retro-looking body. Don’t be fooled by the 16MP spec. Its APS-C image sensor is strategically placed closer to the lens for amazing image quality that actually surpasses the NEX-7 and rivals the Canon 5D Mark II. At about $1700, it’ll cost a pretty penny, but you can’t argue with its results.

2: Sony Alpha SLT-A77

No, the A77 is not an MILC; it’s your mostly typical digital SLR, but it’s also your best bet at achieving NEX-7 level results. Apart from being a bit larger and heavier, the A77 has almost exactly the same components as the NEX-7. The A77 is also a bit more rugged, has many more lens choices, improved autofocus, and a larger battery.

3: Sony NEX-5n

Even though it’s the NEX-7’s little brother, the NEX-5n doesn’t skimp on much. It drops down to a 16MP APS-C image sensor (from 24MP on the NEX-7), but image quality only suffers slightly. It also loses the built-in flash and viewfinder, but makes up for it with a smaller and significantly lighter frame. At about half the price, it’s also a lot nicer to your wallet than the NEX-7.

4: Samsung NX200

The NX200 offers somewhat of a middle ground between the NEX-5n and the NEX-7, and its roughly $900 price tag reflects that. It has a great 20MP APS-C image sensor, significantly outclassing Nikon’s similarly priced V1. It’s also a bit lighter and slightly more compact than most MILCs of its class. Lastly, the NX200 has a wide variety of lenses available (a lofty 11), compared to other MILCs.

5: Nikon 1 V1

The Nikon V1 doesn’t really compete with the NEX-7, but as an alternative to the NEX-5n, it does make a decent choice. With a smaller image sensor and larger price (about $900) than competing MILCs, the V1 is a pretty tough sell, but it does have a few unique features (60fps burst and high-speed movie mode) and handful of great Nikkor lenses available as well as quality Nikon accessories.

The α77 and α65

The big selling point of the α77 and α65 is Sony’s brand new Translucent Mirror Technology. Traditionally, SLR cameras (the film kind) used a mirror placed in front of the shutter to allow you to see through the lens when looking through the viewfinder. It let the autofocus circuitry peek through the lens as well. The problem is that when you take a photo, the mirror flips up out of the way of the shutter. This wasn’t much of an issue with film, but digital cameras can take photos much faster, and can even shoot video.

While companies like Canon and Nikon have simply taken the familiar route they’ve used for ages in their film cameras and applied it to their digital cameras, Sony has introduced a revolutionary new idea, a mirror that simultaneously lets light pass through it to the shutter while also reflecting light to the autofocus sensors. This allows for true continuous autofocus, regardless of frames per second. Canon and Nikon use a predictive autofocus method that, put simply, doesn’t even compare, especially in high speed shots.

As would be expected with any high-end SLR, these two cameras set the bar in cutting edge features and performance. One notable feature is the Tru-Finder, essentially a digital viewfinder with an OLED display inside. It allows you to see information on top of the image, just as you would on the LCD display. It also works great in low light situations, an area where traditional viewfinders struggle. In all, both the α77 and α65 compare very well to Canon and Nikon’s competing models (the 60D, 7D, D5100, and D7000), even outclassing them in some key points, like image sensor size, light sensitivity, and focus points.

The NEX-5n and NEX-7

The NEX series is another product of Sony’s innovative nature. Traditional SLR designs were built around the limitations that came with film cameras. The NEX series does away with the SLR bulk but keeps almost all of the SLR internal components, like interchangeable lenses, manual controls, and large image sensors. In fact, the NEX-7 actually has the same 24MP image sensor found in the α77.

Compared to the NEX-7, the NEX-5n does dial things back a bit, featuring only a 16MP image sensor (though it’s still full-sized) and lacking a viewfinder and hot shoe. The NEX-5n’s only true competitor is Nikon’s brand new J1. The J1 does offer a few more gimmicky features, but sacrifices a lot in image quality. Even our current leader, the Rebel T3i, is bested in many cases by the NEX-5n.

The biggest limitation of the NEX line is the fact that they all use the E-mount lens, of which, there are only a handful to choose from; however, this all changes when you throw in the Alpha mount adapter. The LA-EA2 adapter even includes the translucent mirror technology, allowing for continuous autofocus. That adapter would effectively turn the NEX-7 into an α77 (minus a bit of image stabilization and a few frames per second in burst mode) at a quarter of the size and half the weight.

I have to say, if I were in the market for a new high-end digital SLR camera this season, it would be the NEX-7, hands down.

Amazon.com’s Game Sale

While it’s not exactly a door buster, Amazon.com is having a huge sale on video games, buy one, get another game at 50% off. This includes some of the top rated game titles of the year, like Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (sure to be a best seller this holiday season), Modern Warfare 3, and Rage.

Sharp LC42B45U

While it’s certainly not the best HDTV available (and it is a bit out dated), Best Buy will be selling this 42-inch 1080p LCD TV for a mere $200. This will be one of the items that sells out fast. Remember, doors open at 12am on Friday.

Best Buy Laptops Sales

Another Best Buy door buster, the Samsung RV510 is a pretty capable 15.6-inch laptop with 4GB of RAM and 320GB hard drive. At just $300, it’s certainly a steal. There will also be a 15.6-inch Lenovo Ideapad G575 for $180. It’s a little less powerful, featuring only 2GB of RAM and a smaller 250GB hard drive, but the price is right.

Best Buy Camera Sales

Best Buy will have a handful of digital cameras on sale as well. The most popular will probably be the Canon PowerShot A3300 at $90; however, they EOS Rebel T3i will be marked down slightly, too. Sony’s NEX-5 will be only $500, which is a phenomenal price, though you may want to consider holding off for the NEX-5N instead.

Netgear WNDR3400

If you don’t make it in time for the door busters, the WNDR3400 is an excellent consolation prize, and Best Buy will have it for $60, USB wireless adapter included.

Target

Target is doing something a little interesting this year. Instead of cutthroat deals, Target’s sale prices are a little higher than you’d expect, however, many of its sale items include Target gift cards. For instance, they will be offering a Keurig K-Cup coffee brewer (a very popular item this year) at its usual $80, but it will include a $30 Target gift card. Other gift card combos include the iPod Nano and Beats by Dr. DreSolo Headphones.

Times Are Changing

If you’re not the type to camp out in the cold just for a chance at a killer deal, you’ll likely be happy to hear that many stores are changing the way they do their Black Friday sales. They still have their door buster specials, but the sales seem to get less impressive each year. Instead, many stores are opting to run their sales longer, but with less discounts. This means you can find a lot of Black Friday priced items often a week before Black Friday.

And don’t forget about Cyber Monday, the internet’s equivalent of Black Friday. Cyber Monday starts on the Monday immediately following Black Friday, but keep an eye out before then. Just like the brick and mortar stores, online stores sometimes like to start early.