A sensor system and a method for operating a sensor system are disclosed. In an one embodiment, the sensor system includes a light source configured to emit laser radiation and an optical element configured to image the laser radiation to at least one image point at a fixed distance in an optical far field of the sensor system. A detector is configured to detect a proportion of the laser radiation reflected back at at least one object illuminated by the laser radiation. A pin hole is located in front of the detector, a diameter of the pin hole corresponds to a size of the image point within a factor of 2.