A method of providing an image of a scene utilizing imaging optics, the method comprising: receiving radiation from the scene impinging on at least one focal plane; sampling radiation received on a first focal plane within a first spectral band to obtain a first band mean signal level over the scene, the first spectral band comprising a first plurality of sub-bands; when the first band mean signal level is at or below a first threshold, collecting an image frame in the first spectral band by integrating over the first spectral band for a time period determined by the first band mean signal level; when the first band mean signal level is above the first threshold: sampling radiation received on a first focal plane within a first sub-band of the first plurality of sub-bands to obtain a first sub-band mean signal level over the scene; collecting an image frame in the first sub-band of the first plurality of sub-bands by integrating over the first sub-band level for a time period determined by the first sub-band mean signal; sampling radiation received on the first focal plane within a second sub-band of the first plurality of sub-bands to obtain a second sub-band mean signal level over the scene; when the second sub-band mean signal level is above a second threshold, adjusting a focal length of the imaging optics to balance an image edge contrast with an amount of collected signal; and collecting an image frame in the second sub-band by integrating over the second sub-band for a time period determined by the second sub-band mean signal level; and outputting for display either the image frame collected in the first spectral band or the combination of the image frame collected in the first sub-band and the image frame collected in the second sub-band. receiving radiation from the scene impinging on at least one focal plane; sampling radiation received on a first focal plane within a first spectral band to obtain a first band mean signal level over the scene, the first spectral band comprising a first plurality of sub-bands; when the first band mean signal level is at or below a first threshold, collecting an image frame in the first spectral band by integrating over the first spectral band for a time period determined by the first band mean signal level; when the first band mean signal level is above the first threshold: sampling radiation received on a first focal plane within a first sub-band of the first plurality of sub-bands to obtain a first sub-band mean signal level over the scene; collecting an image frame in the first sub-band of the first plurality of sub-bands by integrating over the first sub-band level for a time period determined by the first sub-band mean signal; sampling radiation received on the first focal plane within a second sub-band of the first plurality of sub-bands to obtain a second sub-band mean signal level over the scene; when the second sub-band mean signal level is above a second threshold, adjusting a focal length of the imaging optics to balance an image edge contrast with an amount of collected signal; and collecting an image frame in the second sub-band by integrating over the second sub-band for a time period determined by the second sub-band mean signal level; and outputting for display either the image frame collected in the first spectral band or the combination of the image frame collected in the first sub-band and the image frame collected in the second sub-band. sampling radiation received on a first focal plane within a first sub-band of the first plurality of sub-bands to obtain a first sub-band mean signal level over the scene; collecting an image frame in the first sub-band of the first plurality of sub-bands by integrating over the first sub-band level for a time period determined by the first sub-band mean signal; sampling radiation received on the first focal plane within a second sub-band of the first plurality of sub-bands to obtain a second sub-band mean signal level over the scene; when the second sub-band mean signal level is above a second threshold, adjusting a focal length of the imaging optics to balance an image edge contrast with an amount of collected signal; and collecting an image frame in the second sub-band by integrating over the second sub-band for a time period determined by the second sub-band mean signal level; and outputting for display either the image frame collected in the first spectral band or the combination of the image frame collected in the first sub-band and the image frame collected in the second sub-band.