Building a "Cine-Mod" Sony G-Master Lens Set

Feb 6

Improvements in technology have made auto-focus lenses very helpful certain applications of documentary shooting - sit down interviews, gimbal/dolly work, etc. I wanted to be able to utilize this technology in my day-to-day work flow and decided to build out a small set of Sony G-Master prime lenses.

These lenses are the opposite of my Nikkor set - sharp and modern - which sometimes is better for shoots where I am filming just a small portion of a project that has several other cinematographers on the project where vintage glass may stand out in the wrong way when cutting footage shot on more modern optics.

Over the course of a few months I kept an eye out for used copies of the lenses (on B&H and other sites) and put together a 6 lens set. I wanted to “Cine-Mod” them to make them work easier on set and give them a bit of an aesthetic upgrade so clients felt that they were getting something a bit more special than “stills lenses”.

The following is the information on what parts I ordered and if you’d like to download the front label template you can.

Lenses packed in an Orange Nanuk 918 case with pre-cut lens holes. The 135 was out at the moment, new photo coming soon.

6 Lens Sony GM/G prime set

Sony GM 24mm f1.4
Sony GM 35mm f1.4
Sony GM 50mm f1.2
Sony GM 85mm f1.2
Sony G 90mm f2.8 Macro**
Sony GM 135 f1.8

The lenses are packed in a Nanuk 918 case which comes with pre-cut lens holes

Completing the Sony GM/g Lens Set

Eventually I’d like to round out the set with the following lenses for completeness.

Sony G 20mm f1.8
Sony GM 14mm f1.8

Sony GM Cine-Mod

There are tons of video’s on YouTube about the benefits of modifying still lenses so I won’t waste your time here with explanations of the process. What I do want to do is provide some links to parts and services I used to build my set.

85mm Outer Diameter (OD) Step-Up Rings / Caps
Why?

Standardizes the front of the lenses. These lenses have varying filter threads (52-82mm). By replacing standardizing them you are able to use one size filter (82mm - the largest filter thread of all the Sony primes and zooms) across all your lenses. Don’t have to own different sized filters for each lens and in return saves your money
Allows you to use cinema style clamp on matteboxes that are compatible with 85mm OD lenses
Allows you to use push-on style cinema lense caps

Where to Buy

I went with 85mm front rings from Simmod. They offer a more expensive ring that allows you to have the logo, focal length, and aperture of the lens engraved on the ring itself. I find this super helpful to distinguish what lens is which on set when they’re front caps are off. (some lenses are similar in size - the 24 and 35 especially - and I find I have a hard time with some of my Nikkor lenses as well as several lenses are the same size)
Simmod Signature Series 85mm OD Front Ring ($65.00 USD)

Sony GM 85mm f1.4 with Simmod front ring and self designed sticker for their basic rubber caps.

Follow Focus Gears

Why?

Ability to use a follow focus with the lenses

Where to Buy?

I opted not to add follow focus rings to the GMs as they focus the direction I am used to (not the Nikkor direction). If I add them in the future and I would buy Simmod’s SIMple Fit gears which I used on my Nikkor prime set
Simmod SIMple Fit Follow Focus Gears ($59-65 USD)

Custom Designed Front Caps

Custom front 85mm OD lens cap designs for Sony GM/G lenses.

After using my Nikkors on several projects over the last few years, Ive realized how close me or crew has been to losing the lazer engraved front caps for the lenses. Caps that I spent quite a bit of money on.

When building out the Sony GM set I decided to opt for budget front caps and have vinyl decals printed by a local sign shop. If the caps are lost while out on a rental or by me in the field, I wont have to shell out tons of money to replace them.

Simmod Front Caps ($15 USD)
It cost me about $38 to have (9) 85mm labels printed by SignARama (national chain)

I spent bit of time trying to design the front labels to match Sony’s branding for the lenses and came up with this design that displays the focal length, maximum aperture, minimum focus, and whether the lens is a G or a GM lens via an orange or grey G.

If you’d like to download the design template featuring 11 lenses (14-20-24-35-50-85-90-135 / 24-70v1 & 70-200v2) for sale in my store