Panasonic LX3 has a
10.0MP 1/1.63-inch (8.07 x 5.56 mm ) sized CCD sensor . On the other hand, Panasonic ZS15 has a
12.0MP 1/2.3-inch (6.17 x 4.55 mm ) sized CMOS sensor .
Below you can see the LX3 and ZS15 sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Panasonic LX3 has a 1.6x Larger sensor area than Panasonic ZS15. 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.