Sony Rx-100 vs. Canon G15?

Just as a different take on a new camera purchase. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What pictures will you take the most of? Keep in mind that most cameras that cost more than $300-$400 take good pictures, just with different pros and cons. What do YOU need to take pictures of?
• What pictures do you expect to be able to take? Low light? Far off objects with a large zoom? Action shots? HD video? If the answer is yes to all, you'll spend more to get all these features, or find that some aren't possible in a point and shoot, but are better served by an interchangeable lens camera or DSLR.
• How big of a camera is too big? Often, people don't have a problem with small, but coming from someone who used to own a G11, some cameras are just too big for what you need them for. Do you need it to fit in a pocket? In a purse? In a shoulder case? As you go up in size, you trade portability for image quality/manual controls.

• What is your level of photography skill level? Do you plan to learn more? Do you just plan to shoot in auto mode? Keep in mind, that as you go up in price, you usually get cameras that will take better pictures, but only for people who know how to use them. Just because you have better tech, the auto mode usually doesn't improve. You will get slightly better pictures, but probably not an increase in picture quality you'd expect. That comes from learning more. This book here is a great learning book that helped me tremendously and was recommended to me on 3 separate occasions.

Also my 2 cents on the G15. I had the G11 before purchasing a DSLR. The G series cameras are quite large for point and shoots. By quite large I mean they require a case to be worn or a large purse to hold them. They aren't as portable as you'd think. If you want the best image vs portability, the RX100 wins hands down. If you're thinking of the G series, consider an entry level DSLR like the Canon t3i which you can get here for just slight over your $700 budget. Also consider the interchangeable lens cameras like the Sony NEX-5N which will offer a wider range of possibilities than the G15 due to the fact that you can buy new lenses for different situations and it is more compact than the DSLR. Before you start asking about the image quality between interchangeable and DSLR, see what I said above. They're both going to do very well. Do you need more portable vs more advanced.

Hope this helps.