Abstract: The present disclosure presents systems, apparatuses, and methods of holographic imaging. In this regard, a method comprises transmitting light and illuminating a semi-transparent sample object; and forming, at a hologram plane, an interference pattern of a real image of the sample object from a scattered object beam and an unscattered reference beam from the transmitted light. To do so, the scattered object beam and the unscattered reference beam are in-line with one another, and a distance between the hologram plane to the sample object is set at a distance that substantially weakens a virtual image of the sample object formed from the scattered object beam and the unscattered reference beam. Accordingly, the method further comprises recording the interference pattern of a hologram formed from the scattered object beam and the unscattered reference beam at a detector; and reconstructing a 3D optical field of the hologram without phase retrieval.