24-105 f/4 vs 24-70 f/2.8 (for corporate / birthday party / wedding events)

Which would you chose out of these two for events such as corporate parties, birthday parties, and weddings.

Does a person even end up shooting at f/2.8 during these events? As there are many group shots etc. so im assuming that most people would shoot the events (when using these lenses) at around f/4 - f/5.6 for maximum corner sharpness?

Yes you would use f2.8. There are always subject isolation shots especially for weddings. And of course for low light situations.

But you are also right that often you wouldn't shoot at f2.8 because you need more stuff in focus. However, an f2.8 lens can become an f4 an f4 cannot go to f2.8 unless you are harry potter.

That said the f4 24-105 is perfectly versatile for wedding and other events.

Once I bought my 24-105 I sold my 24-70. The focal range and IS trumps anything the 24-70 had to offer. Subject isolation at 2.8 rather than f/4 in this focal range is so subtle not to even notice. The 24-105 performs very well in dark venues and with a flash or a 5DmII/mIII it is not even an issue to bump the ISO up one or two stops.

Low light performance really depends on the situation. I wouldn't blanket statement a bump of 1 to 2 stop of ISO is never going to be a problem because you have full frame. I have seen my sister's wedding photog using a 5D2 made her mother in law look like she's 80 (when she looks 40ish in real life) because the photog decides it wasn't a problem to bump ISO. End result are completely useless photos from inside the church.

When you have 1 stop more light you will find situations to use it. Whatever the body 1 stop less ISO to get the job done is always going to be beneficial to your final image quality.

Sure the IS on the 24-105 makes up for the difference by more than 1 stop but only if you are shooting still subjects. And that's not the case for events. Considering that when people are moving you are using 1/50 to 1/100 or so, be it the 24-105 or 24-70 1 stop less ISO might be quite a difference.

I would never use the 24-105. It was never appealing to me. The IS makes it kinda of flexible, but implementation not the greatest. F4 is a deal killer. Dof is that not thin enough, and not enough speed in critical moments. I was shooting indoors with my 2.8 settings near maxed out, 1/30 ISO 3200 f2.8, and had I used the f4, I would have pushed ISO 6400...

1 stop performance is worth a lot and it costs a bit too.

Use your 35L.

bobbyz wrote in post #14427262
Use your 35L.

yeah my 35L covers well when it comes to group shots, and wide shots (which is 75% of the shots in a party) but i feel its too wide for portraits, especially candids / headshots.

Maybe i should invest in 85L or 135L instead

Get a 580 EX II shooting with hss paired with a 24-105 and u will love it...

erdons wrote in post #14428081
Get a 580 EX II shooting with hss paired with a 24-105 and u will love it...

Can you elaborate on that a bit more.. what do you mean by hss?

high speed sync. When using a speedlight, HSS allows you to have high shutter speeds

Good for underexposing the background a tad and having your subject have alot of pop

I personally love flash photography indoors, gives you so much creativity and the speedlight helps you to focus a lot easier. And also lets you utilise a 24-105

Pros for 24-70mm:
You can utilize the 1 stop faster lens by either lower your ISO by 1 stop with same shutter speed or keep the same ISO with twice faster shutter speed.

Pros for 24-105mm:
A little bit lighter.
The 70-105mm range.

Which lens to choose depends on your preference.

Personally, I am comfortable shooting f3.2 to f3.5 with 24-70mm. From 35mm to 50mm, f2.8 is very good.

Bumping to see what others have to say.

I'm using 24-70 and I shoot mostly corporate events, ie. conferences, presentations, seminars, etc.
In which case, a flash is generally not allowed, but in cases where it is I still use the same lens.

However, the problem is I can do carry another lens 70-200 if the venue requires me to. Which now makes me rethink about 24-105 might be a good option as well.

andy_dee wrote in post #14784899
Bumping to see what others have to say.

I'm using 24-70 and I shoot mostly corporate events, ie. conferences, presentations, seminars, etc.
In which case, a flash is generally not allowed, but in cases where it is I still use the same lens.

I take the extra stop on the 24-70 over the extra 35mm anyday. You'll never know what kind of (terrible) lighting you will run into...

If I only carried one lens, I'd probably go for the 24-105 (and flash when allowed).

When I have my camera/s, I seldom have one lens. So really I'd go 24-70 and make up the missing 35mm distance (compared to the 24-105) by switching to a 70-200 lens (or using a longer lens on the second camera).
Sometimes the f/2.8 also needs flash. This is me.

You should use what works best for you (or what you think works best for you). Either lens can work.