  Imaging is an important means by which information is gathered regarding the
physical world. Spatial resolution and signal-to-noise ratio are underpinning
concepts. There is a paucity of rigorous definitions for these quantities,
which are general enough to be useful in a broad range of imaging problems,
while being also sufficiently specific to enable precise quantitative
evaluation of the relevant properties of imaging systems. This is particularly
true for many modern forms of imaging that include digital processing of the
acquired imaging data as an integral step leading to final images presented to
an end-user. Here, both the well-known historical definitions of spatial
resolution and some more recent approaches suitable for many forms of modern
computational imaging are discussed. An intrinsic duality of spatial resolution
and signal-to-noise exists in almost all types of imaging, with the related
uncertainty relationship determining a trade-off between the two quantities.
Examples are presented with applications to super-resolution imaging, inline
holography and ghost imaging.
