Apparatus for storing an
optical image of an object comprises an imaging device having a multiplicity of pixels, each pixel including a light sensor and a multiplicity of storage cells coupled to the sensor. A lens
system focuses light from the object onto the imaging device. Within each pixel a first one of its storage cells is configured to store data corresponding to a first
exposure of its sensor to light from the object, and a second one of its storage cells is configured to store data corresponding to a second
exposure of its sensor to light from the object. In a preferred embodiment, the pixels are arranged in an array extending along a first direction, and during the time interval between the first and second exposures, a translator is configured to produce, in a second direction, a relative translation or shift between the imaging device and the focal point of the lens
system. In one embodiment, the second direction is
traverse to the first direction. In a preferred embodiment, each pixel comprises a photosensitive region, and the pixels are shifted by a distance that is approximately equal to one half the
pitch of the photosensitive regions as measured in the second direction. In this fashion, the invention increases the spatial resolution by increasing the effective number of pixels of the sensor without increasing the actual number of pixels. In alternative embodiment of the invention, the
dynamic range of the sensor is enhanced.