Sensor size refers to the physical dimensions of the chip inside a camera that captures light and converts it into a digital image. The "1/3.06"" notation is a standardized designation that is not based on direct measurement in inches, but on a historical system used for old television cameras. In practice, the diagonal of this sensor corresponds to approximately 5.87 millimeters. The physical size of the sensor affects the amount of light it is able to capture. Smaller sensors, like this one, generally gather less light than larger sensors. This can manifest in the resulting photo quality, especially in poorer lighting conditions, where more digital noise may occur, which is an image artifact resembling graininess. Sensors of this size are commonly used in smartphones or some smaller compact cameras.