The 1/1.1-inch sensor size indicates the physical dimension of the image chip in a camera. This writing format is a historical standard and is not based on a direct conversion to the sensor's actual diagonal. Generally, the smaller the number in the denominator of the fraction, the larger the sensor. A 1/1.1" chip is therefore smaller than a 1" sensor, but significantly larger than more common 1/2.5" type sensors. The physical size directly affects the sensor's ability to capture light. A larger area means that more light falls on each image point, or pixel, leading to better results in poor lighting conditions. This manifests as a lower amount of digital noise, which is undesirable graininess in photos. A larger sensor also makes it easier to achieve a shallow depth of field, which is the effect where the main subject is sharp and the background is blurred.