In this work, properties of short-range synthetic aperture radar imaging, with a special emphasis on wide-beam antennas, are evaluated analytically and by means of numerical simulations. Figures of merit considering system and scenario parameters for judging the processing results are defined, optimum antenna patterns with respect to those figures of merit are derived, and the influences of suboptimal antenna patterns and system imperfections are discussed. A system implemented at low costs is described, and imaging experiments carried out using that system are documented and discussed.