Mirrors and cameras are both essential in capturing and displaying images, yet they operate on different principles. Mirrors reflect light to produce an image, whereas cameras use lenses to gather and focus light onto a sensor or film. This fundamental difference means that mirrors often invert images laterally, flipping them from left to right. On the other hand, Cameras record images directly as they appear in the real world. Additionally, lenses have the ability to refract light, creating both real and virtual images, while mirrors typically produce only virtual images. Understanding these differences is crucial for appreciating the unique roles that mirrors and cameras play in image representation.