Panasonic has said that it is looking very carefully at the large sensor, fixed lens compact camera market after witnessing successes from competitors in the market.
Fujifilm has had particular success in this area. It launched its X100 camera back in 2010 to rave reviews and enormous sales figures. It features an APS-C size sensor, but has a fixed length lens.
Recently, Canon introduced the G1X, which features a sensor that measure 18.7x14mm, larger than the 17.3x13mm four thirds size sensor. The G1X also has the same size pixels as those found on Canon's EOS 600D, which has an APS-C sized sensor.
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Speaking to TechRadar, Barney Sykes from Panasonic UK said, "It's an area of study for us, and how we move forward with that line [LX] is an internal discussion that's being had.
"It was interesting to see Canon with the G1X, perhaps that [sensor] is what they will include in a future CSC," he continued.
Panasonic fully expects Canon to join the CSC race this year, with predictions for the overall compact system camera market rising to 51% of interchangeable lens sales by 2015.
Last year, Panasonic told us that the LX5, although well received, it had not sold as well as its predecessor, the LX3, perhaps suggesting that people are looking for something a little bit different now.
Panasonic also indicated that the upcoming Photokina trade show taking place in Germany in September would also be a big event for the company, perhaps hinting at a number of new releases.
The Panasonic LX5, the company's high-end, manual controlled fixed-lens compact camera was launched in 2010, but features a small sensor. Since then, it's fair to say that Panasonic has been concentrating the majority of its efforts on releasing compact system cameras into its G range.
