I own they 24-70 IX and 60-180 IX and they far for exciting. Construction
is on the cheap - plastic (including the mount), narrow focus ring, very
loose focusing, no manual aperture.
Why don't they fit? As someone pointed out, they extend into the camera
body too far and interact with the mirror. I suspect (guess) that you could
use these lenses on a body with mirror lock up (F5, ...) when the mirror is
out of the way, but I also suspect (guess) that the image circle would not
fully cover the 35mm frame. The smaller image circle makes it possible to
make a 20-60 mm lens for less than a kings ransom. (Of course the 20-60
mounted on a Pronea gives you the effective field of view of a 25-75 mm lens
in 35mm). Why did Nikon make them extend into the body? The Pronea has a
smaller mirror than 35mm cameras (smaller film area) and wide angle lenses
are easier to build when the rear lens is close to the film surface.
Nikon recently released some new IX lenses for the Pronea-S camera. I tried
the 30-60 about a week ago and it does work fine on the Pronea-600i. It's
very small, slightly stiffer to focus but the focus ring is non-existent.
The color (silver) does not flatter the gray of the Pronea 600i.
What to see pictures taken with the IX? I have a web site on my computer at
home. If it's up, check out:
(IX 60-180, shot at 180mm, wide open (f5.6?))
http://a3a19459.sympatico.bconnected.net/Manning/Marmot1L.jpeg
(IX 24-70, wide open.)
http://a3a19459.sympatico.bconnected.net/Manning/Alpine2L.jpeg
These images are scanned with a cheap flatbed scanner from prints from a
drug store so your mileage may vary.
Good luck!
John
