- A majority of cameras have a lens positioned in front of the camera's opening to gather the incoming light and focus all or part of the image on the recording surface.
- The diameter of the aperture is often controlled by a diaphragm mechanism, but some cameras have a fixed-size aperture.
An unordered list ;
- Most 20th century cameras used photographic film as a recording surface, while the majority of new ones now use an electronic image sensor.
- The still camera takes one photo each time the user presses the shutter button.