1. Apparatus for generating an electronic image of a resolved object, comprising: imaging means for converting the resolved object into a resolved optical image in an image plane; dividing means for simultaneously dividing, in the image plane itself, the resolved optical image into n contiguous subimages, where n is a positive integer; and detecting means for simultaneously converting each of the subimages into an electronic representation to form a composite electronic image in which at least one of the attributes from the set of attributes comprising resolution and field-of-view is enhanced, with no degradation in the signal-to-noise ratio for a given imaging time and with no loss in any portion of the image of the resolved object, with respect to systems in which said image plane dividing is not employed.