The 1/1.8-inch sensor size refers to the physical dimensions of the image sensor in a camera. However, this figure does not correspond to the actual diagonal length in inches; it is a historical designation derived from the outer diameter of old image pick-up tubes, whose actual imaging area was smaller. A 1/1.8-inch type sensor has approximate dimensions of 7.2 x 5.3 millimeters. The physical size of the sensor affects image quality because a larger area is capable of capturing more light. This leads to cleaner images with less digital noise, which is graininess mainly visible when shooting in low light. The chip size also affects the control over depth of field, i.e., the degree of background blur behind a focused object. This size falls between the smaller sensors of common mobile phones and larger chips used, for example, in system cameras.