This seems to be my second visit to the Shanghai Botanical Garden. I had originally planned to visit the Chenshan Botanical Garden, but since it’s too far away, inconvenient to get to, and currently peak season with likely huge crowds, I decided to come to this older botanical garden instead. To my surprise, they’re hosting an International Flower Show! Although it has just started, many areas are still under renovation, and the flowers haven’t fully bloomed yet, the tickets are cheap and the weather is beautiful, so it’s still a nice place to visit—plus, it’s a perfect opportunity to test out this 50mm f/2.8 macro lens~~~
By the way, general admission is 15 yuan, which doesn’t include access to the conservatories inside. A combo ticket that includes the conservatories should be 40 yuan; if you buy the conservatory ticket separately once inside, it costs 30 yuan. So if you plan to visit the conservatories, remember to get the combo ticket.
A few more words about this lens: it’s compatible with full-frame cameras, and of course works equally well on APS-C bodies. It’s a true macro lens with a 1:1 magnification ratio, a minimum focusing distance of 16 cm, and a maximum aperture of f/2.8. I’ve actually been looking for a macro lens like this for a while. Previously, the closest focal length I had was a 30mm macro designed for APS-C sensors, but its silver finish just didn’t match my black camera body at all. Plus, I always felt 30mm was a bit too short, so I never pulled the trigger on it. Unexpectedly, this new 50mm macro lens hit the market—it’s also quite suitable for everyday portrait shooting. In real-world use, autofocus speed is slightly slow in macro mode, but still acceptable, and the lens is nicely lightweight.
Photos in this post taken with a SONY A5100 + 50mm f/2.8, post-processed in Lightroom.
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