Olympus XZ-2 iHS has a
12.0MP 1/1.7-inch (7.44 x 5.58 mm ) sized CMOS sensor . On the other hand, Canon SX1 IS has a
10.0MP 1/2.3-inch (6.17 x 4.55 mm ) sized CMOS sensor .
Below you can see the XZ-2 iHS and SX1 IS sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Olympus XZ-2 iHS has a 1.5x Larger sensor area than Canon SX1 IS. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.