Camera Manufacturers Olympus and Leica have created online courses and virtual group discussions to offer people a new form of productive entertainment while social distancing and stay-at-home orders carry out in full force amid the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak.

The Japanese owned manufacturer launched the “Home With Olympus Sessions,” which connects those interested to its technical experts who offer series sessions individual or group sessions centered on specified camera models or on photographic education.

Home with Olympus features video tutorials, olympus one to one camera training, webinars, podcasts, photography blogs,and professional galleries.

The video tutorials demonstrate effective tricks for taking pictures at home, as well as explanations about  interesting properties and possibilities of Olympus cameras.

The Olympus Visionaries are technical experts who offer one-on-one or group sessions related to photography. The experts will be offering a wide variety of content via various media.

Topics included within the sessions can range from detailed technical information regarding Olympus cameras or general photography skills, such as how to take portrait, macro night-time , or underwater photos.

The sessions are unexclusive to owners Olympus equipment, meaning they are open to the public, with most of them accessible free of charge.

The German owned manufacturer launched the #StayHomeWithLeica program, which comprises of a series of complimentary online programs produced by the Leica Akademie, featuring renowned photographers, musicians, actors, and others in the creative industry.

Over the coming weeks, the talks will include Stephen Vanasco, Juan Cristóbal Cobo, Jennifer McClure and Maggie Steber, who will discuss topics ranging from sustaining photography while at home on quarantine to managing digital workflow.

Here’s the good news: People today not only have access to technology that professional photographers could only dream of 20 years ago, but with such with such online offerings, they could also possess the skills. Here’s the bad news: People can only shoot from within their homes.