What makes a camera mirrorless? The designation ‘MILC’ - that’s Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera - is used to set certain cameras apart from DSLR - Digital Single Lens Reflex - cameras.
DSLRs use a clever system of a mirror and a prism to take the light that goes into the camera lens and fold it on a path up to the viewfinder. It’s an entirely optical way of seeing exactly the view down the lens, and therefore knowing precisely what you’ll be photographing, and goes way back to the film days. It was an improvement over earlier cameras when it was introduced, as metering, flash calculations, framing and focusing were all carried out down the same lens you’d be using for the exposure.
