Will Olympus Be Making Lenses For Sony?

In September of 2012, Sony officially pumped $645 million into ailing Olympus, forming an alliance between the two companies. This saw Sony gain a seat on Olympus’ board, and gain some substantial inroads into Olympus’ successful medical imaging division. But it looks like Sony shooters may soon be reaping the benefit of this alliance in another way: it looks like Olympus might be making lenses for Sony.

Amateur Photographer reports that while Sony already makes sensors for Olympus, an Olympus Tokyo spokesperson said “The imaging sensor has already started to source from Sony to Olympus. And the lens [parts] and lens units will start to source from Olympus to Sony.

Sony Alpha Rumors links out to a Google Translate of an interview with Olympus manager Hiroyuki Sasa where he talks about collaborating with Sony, including a device with Olympus lenses and Sony sensors.

Officially, Olympus is remaining quiet on the issue, and refusing to say if it’s working on lenses for Sony. It could mean Olympus designed glass for ILCs, but could also mean Olympus would be assisting with compacts and smartphones.

We’ll share any official info as we have it, but for now, anyone care to guess what might come of the relationship?