A hyperspectral imaging systems includes an imaging sensor, a multispectral filter, and an actuator. The actuator moves the multispectral filter with respect to the imaging sensor to capture a scene with full spectral data. The spectral data of the scene can be stored in a hyperspectral data cube, which can be compressed, processed, stored, and/or sent to a remote location. Each acquired image includes a spatial map of the scene which facilitates pointing, focusing, and data analysis. The spectral measurement parameters can be configured dynamically in order to optimize performance such as spectral resolution, storage capacity, and transmission bandwidth. The system achieves high spectral and spatial resolution, is simple, compact, and lightweight, thereby providing an efficient hyperspectral imaging system.