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The first of the three stages of adoption as defined by David Liddle is the Enthusiast User stage. This first stage involves limited users and the product is not widely known. These first users generally enjoy the specialty aspect and set about discovering the new technology for themselves. In specific reference to the camera the first users were astronauts and other highly skilled professionals. The original camera itself was a highly complex piece of technology with unregulated options that differed between brands.

The second stage in the process is the Professional stage. This is when a piece of technology has gained enough recognition amongst enthusiast users to be seen as a useful tool in the workplace. As the technology becomes more widely used, certain standards start to appear in the equipment. As with the camera there began to be similarities amongst models, such as the placement of the shutter button, where the film was wound and the location of the viewfinder. Even though the product was still very manual it began to be a stabilized product.

The third stage of adoption is the Consumer phase. The largest change in this step is the modification of controls to be highly standardized and largely automatic. This is how it is disseminated amongst a large part of the population, as with standardization comes a decrease in price because the product can be produced on a larger scale. The camera is now a product almost all consumers are familiar with and if someone has used one camera they can figure out how to use most as all the controls and settings have been simplified and completely standardized.

Another technology that went through a similar process would be the radio. Initially created for use in the military it was eventually used for news broadcasting. Only the wealthy could initially afford a tuner to listen to the radio. Now it is found standard in every vehicle and in almost every household.