Sony’s RX100 Mark III may have a new challenger in the high-end compact space with a Panasonic LX8. 43 Rumors reports the Panasonic is planning on introducing the LX7 successor with a larger sensor on July 16th. To directly compete with the RX100 Mark III Panasonic is upgrading the camera with a bigger 1-inch sensor and electronic viewfinder. On a personal note, we don’t understand why they’re doing this vs putting a Four Thirds sensor into the camera.

The LX series has always been an amazing compact camera series mainly for its Leica glass—and a hearty handful of physical switches including one for aspect ratio—which boasts a compact 24-90mm equivalent lens. It’s a piece of glass that still even wipes the floor with the RX100 Mark III newfangled 24-70 f1.8-2.8 lens.

Panasonic has always lagged behind with a smaller senor, but if Pany does indeed go big with the LX8 it should come with a bit more megapixels to flex and better low-light shooting capability.

What’s more if the Panasonic LX8 does show up one July 16th you can bet we will see Leica come out with a refreshed Leica D-Lux 7 camera. In all likelihood we could see a possible D-Lux 8 camera announced at Photokina in September.

Via 43 Rumors