Classic used cameras, lenses, flash units and accessories
SHOPPING CART
(0)£0.00
View Cart
Latest News:
 We are open as normal during the current health crisis, and taking suitable precautions. Hermes and Royal Mail are providing contact-free deliveries in the UK. 
  • UK Seller, Established for 19 Years
  • Free UK Delivery Option with Fast Dispatch
  • Privacy and Cookies
    Categories
  • Cameras
  • Lenses
    • Manual Focus
    • AF lenses
    • Digital Lenses
    • Adapters, Mounts
  • Flash, Lighting
    • Dedicated Flash
    • Multi-Dedicated
    • AF Flash
    • Digital Flash
    • Non-Dedicated
    • Manual Flash
    • Slave Flash
    • 110 Hot Shoe Flash
  • Accessories
    • Macro, Close Up
    • Winders, Grips
    • Lens Hoods, Filters
    • Instructions
    • Cases, Holdalls
    • Other Accessories
    • Adapters, Mounts
    • Flash, Lighting
    • Remote Releases
  • Collectable
  • Related
    • 3D and Stereo
    • Canon EF-M 35mm
    • Canon EOS
    • Canon FD, FL
    • Chinon
    • Contax/Yashica
    • Fujica 35mm
    • Fujifilm S9500/S9600
    • Hot Shoe Flash
    • Konica 35mm
    • Leica 35mm
    • M42 Screw
    • Mamiya 35mm
    • Micro Four Thirds
    • Minolta AF, Sony
    • Minolta MC, MD
    • Minolta Vectis APS
    • Miscellaneous
    • Nikon AF, Digital
    • Nikon AI, Pre-AI
    • Nikon F55 35mm
    • Nikon Pronea
    • Olympus AF, PF
    • Olympus OM
    • PC Synchro Cable
    • Pentax AF, Digital
    • Pentax K, KA
    • Praktica 35mm
    • Sigma SA, SD
    • Sony NEX, E-Mount
    • T2 (T-Mount)
    • Tamron Adaptall
    • Yashica AF
  • HCL Blog
    • Bronica GS 135-SW 24x69mm Panoramic Back for 35mm film on the GS-1 6x7cm Medium Format Camera
    • Canon AC Lenses for T80 on EOS M, Fujifilm X, Micro Four Thirds, Samsung NX, Sony E-Mount Digital
    • Nikon IX Nikkor APS lenses can be used on Micro Four Thirds and Sony NEX digital cameras
    • Auto Exposure with Manual Flash Units on Flashmatic 35mm Film Compact Cameras
    • A variety of small manual lenses for Micro Four Thirds and Sony NEX digital cameras
    • Hanimex H (Tokina 47mm) Mount – a different take on interchangeable lens mounts
    • Tamron Adapt-a-Matic interchangeable lens mounts with auto diaphragm
Hundreds of products available
Minolta AF 28-80mm  Auto Focus Wide to Portrait Zoom Lens with Caps for Dynax Maxxum KM Sony Alpha DSLR SLT
Minolta AF 28-80mm Auto Focus Wide to Portrait Zoom Lens with Caps for Dynax Maxxum KM Sony Alpha DSLR SLT
£29.99
Secure payment graphic

Pay securely online with PayPal
Heritage Cameras Online

Heritage Cameras on Twitter  Heritage Cameras on eBay   Heritage Cameras on Amazon UK 
Related Products
Powerful Bounce Swivel Zoom Twin Auto Flash for many Pentax Film or Digital, Nikon Minolta Film SLRs
Powerful Bounce Swivel Zoom Twin Auto Flash for many Pentax Film or Digital, Nikon Minolta Film SLRs
£24.99
Bounce Swivel Zoom Twin Dedicated Auto Flash for most Nikon AF and TTL Manual Focus Film SLR Cameras
Bounce Swivel Zoom Twin Dedicated Auto Flash for most Nikon AF and TTL Manual Focus Film SLR Cameras
£19.99
T2 Mount (T-Mount) for Nikon F AI many AF Digital SLRs, F2 FM FE EL2 D300 Nikkormat Fuji DSLRs
T2 Mount (T-Mount) for Nikon F AI many AF Digital SLRs, F2 FM FE EL2 D300 Nikkormat Fuji DSLRs
£9.99
Nikon IX Nikkor APS lenses can be used on Micro Four Thirds and Sony NEX digital cameras
Home > HCL Blog > Nikon IX Nikkor APS lenses can be used on Micro Four Thirds and Sony NEX digital cameras

How to use Nikon IX Nikkor APS lenses on digital cameras
Nikon used to produce Pronea SLR cameras using APS film, and a matching range of IX-Nikkor interchangeable lenses. While the cameras used the standard Nikon AF G lens mount, the IX lenses were designed to be especially compact and lightweight to suit the camera bodies. One of the ways they achieved this was to have a reduced back focus, and the rear of the lenses protruded further than usual inside the camera's mount. The lenses available included 20-60mm, 24-70mm, 30-60mm and 60-180mm zooms.

Unfortunately the IX lenses are incompatible with Nikon 35mm, AF or digital camera bodies, as the rear protrusion prevents them mounting. There are some reports on the web (which Google will find) that the lenses can be modified by cutting off part of the extended plastic mount at the rear of the lens, but this seems a little drastic. The only DSLR that will accept Nikkor IX lenses without modification is the Kodak DCS 315, which was based on the Pronea 6i/600i body.

Nikkor IX lens on Panasonic G1 with Nikon G adapter

However, there's now an alternative approach which requires no damage to the lens, no technical skill and allows these lenses to be used on some modern digital compact system cameras. These have a very short register (distance from the lens mount to the image sensor), and many adapters are available for other lenses. Some of the more recent Nikon adapters have an aperture ring designed to allow the operation of the diaphragm on Nikkor G lenses and other types that have no manual ring of their own. Although we're sure this wasn't an intentional part of their design, some of these adapters happily accept the Nikkor IX lenses as well, as there's room inside the adapter to accommodate the protruding rear mount.

We've successfully used all four of the IX Nikkor lenses on our Panasonic G1 and GH1 using a Nikon G to Micro Four Thirds adapter. As with all such adapters the operation of the lens is fully manual. Focusing is simple using the camera's EVF or LCD, and exposure works fine in aperture priority auto and manual modes. As there's no aperture ring on the lens, the one on the adapter is used to stop the lens down if required.

The lenses may also work with Nikon G adapters for other mirrorless cameras such as the Canon EOS M, Fujifilm X, Leica CL (2017), T and TL, Ricoh GXR Mount A12, Nikon 1 and Z50, Samsung NX (but see below) and Pentax Q, but please double-check compatibility with the suppliers of these adapters before purchase. We've tried all four IX lenses on a Nikon G to Sony NEX adapter, and they fit and work fine.

Nikkor IX 60-180mm lens on Sony NEX-5

Added 14 June 2010
Updated 05 July 2010
Updated 13 March 2011
Updated 27 October 2011
Updated 24 November 2011


Can they be used on DSLRs?  
We received an enquiry asking about using these lenses on Canon EOS digital SLRs, but unfortunately we're not aware of any way to use unmodified Nikkor-IX lenses on modern DSLR cameras. The reason they can be used on some digital compact system cameras is that these are much thinner than SLRs, and the protruding part of the lens's rear mount is contained within the adapter. On EOS cameras the mirror gets in the way so the lens can't be mounted, even with an adapter. We thought that the lenses might be usable in Live View mode (where the mirror is locked up), but unfortunately our tests show that the rear part of an IX Nikkor lens fouls the sides of the mirror box and still won't fit.

There are ways to modify the protruding parts at the rear of these lenses, but these all seem to involve cutting the plastic, so aren't for the faint hearted... a Google search for MODIFY IX NIKKOR will find many references to the procedure.

Updated 18 November 2012


Samsung NX adapter not compatible
Not all adapters for Nikon G lenses to digital compact system cameras are suitable for IX-Nikkor lenses. The Nikon G to Samsung NX (NG-NX) adapter shown below won't fit, as the extended shroud around the electrical contacts on the rear of the lens fouls on the diaphragm control mechanism inside the adapter. 

Nikkor IX lens with Nikon G to Samsung NX adapter

Updated 17 January 2015


Can they be used on full frame cameras?
The IX-Nikkor lenses can be fitted to some full frame mirrorless digital cameras such as the Sony A7 series and A9, using suitable Nikon G manual adapters (as above). As the lenses were designed exclusively for APS film cameras they don't cover the full 24x36mm frame, and some vignetting (darkening towards the corners) is inevitable. However, they can be surprisingly usable, especially towards the longer end of the zoom range. Here are two images taken with the IX-Nikkor 30-60mm standard zoom lens at 30mm and 60mm respectively: 
Coverage of the Nikon IX-Nikkor 30-60mm lens on the Sony A7 full frame mirrorless digital cameras at 30mm and infinity            Coverage of the Nikon IX-Nikkor 30-60mm lens on the Sony A7 full frame mirrorless digital cameras at 60mm and infinity
As you can see the darkening at 30mm is quite obvious, but it's much less of a problem at 60mm, and with some subjects (and/or a little cropping) it might be usable. The 60-180mm telephoto zoom gives these results at 60mm and 180mm respectively: 
Coverage of the Nikon IX-Nikkor 60-180mm lens on the Sony A7 full frame mirrorless digital cameras at 60mm and infinity            Coverage of the Nikon IX-Nikkor 60-180mm lens on the Sony A7 full frame mirrorless digital cameras at 180mm and infinity
A similar story, but the 180mm setting is actually pretty good, and some full frame lenses are no worse than this.

Some other full frame cameras might also be usable with suitable Nikon G manual adapters, including Canon EOS R, Leica M (live view) and SL, Panasonic L-Mount and Nikon Z, but this is unconfirmed. 

Updated 29 December 2018
Updated 11 October 2019

Information
  • Home
  • How to contact us
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Sitemap
Free UK Delivery
Delivery logo imageWe offer fast dispatch, secure packaging and free UK delivery option
 
Free UK delivery image
More Info
Buy with Confidence
Money image14 day money back guarantee, plus our very comprehensive warranty on all items

More Info
Buy Safely Online
Secure shopping image We accept all popular credit and debit cards via PayPal – your details are secure, and we never see your card number
More Info
Quantity Discounts
Discounts ImageBuy two or more items in one transaction for twenty per cent discount off the prices shown
 
Copyright © Heritage Cameras Limited