While ordinary cameras capture light across the visible spectrum (RBG), spectral imaging can use multiple bands including x-ray, infrared, near infrared, ultraviolet, as well as the visible spectrum or be some type of combination of those mentioned. Spectral imaging has found uses in agriculture, food processing, mineralogy, and engineering, to name a few. There are two basic subtypes of spectral imaging: multispectral and hyperspectral imaging.
Multispectral imaging records data within wavelengths in spaced spectral bands, usually in three to fifteen spectral bands. These wavelengths could be detected by instruments that are designed to be sensitive to certain wavelengths, such as infrared (IR), near infrared (NIR) and ultra-violet.
Hyperspectral imaging, a cross between spectroscopy and digital photography, measures a complete spectrum consisting of hundreds of contiguous bands.