Future goals for imaging

The demands imposed on the imaging system of an astronomical gamma-ray telescope are numerous; it must identify and resolve individual point sources, often in crowded regions of the sky; extended emission structures must be measured on angular dimensions which can extend up to the size scale of the Galactic plane; it must achieve these goals with high sensitivity for both the wide band continuum radiation as well a for discrete spectral line emissions, and ideally have as large a field of view as possible to enhance the probability of registering the unpredictable transient events which pervade the high energy sky. True imaging systems are currently under development for operation for energies up to about 100 keV, however the most practical tool for higher energies, for the time being, remains the coded mask. Some options are briefly reviewed.