Short answers, pulled from the story.
The first camera capable of capturing a permanent image was the camera obscura, a darkened room or sealed box that projected an inverted image onto a surface inside. This optical device utilized the principle of light traveling in straight lines through a small aperture to form the foundation for all future imaging technology.
The true birth of the camera as a recording instrument occurred in the 19th century when inventors began to solve the problem of fixing fleeting projections onto a permanent medium. Thomas Wedgwood and Nicéphore Niépce were among the pioneers who experimented with light-sensitive materials to create the first successful photographs.
The Asahiflex II, released by the Japanese company Asahi in 1954, was the world's first SLR camera with an instant return mirror. This innovation allowed the photographer to see the scene through the camera lens, avoiding the problem of parallax which occurs when the viewfinder or viewing lens is separated from the taking lens.
Kodak engineer Steven Sasson developed the first camera using digital electronics to capture and store images in 1975. He used a charge-coupled device provided by Fairchild Semiconductor to create a digital camera that saved black and white images onto a cassette tape.
Sharp introduced the world's first digital camera phone, the J-SH04 J-Phone, in Japan in 2000. By the beginning of the 2010s, almost all smartphones had an integrated digital camera, making the camera phone the most common camera in the world.