Is 24mm wide enough?

For indoor architecture type of shots?

Im stuck between either buying 16-35II or 24-70II as my next lens... mainly used for event / wedding photography.. would like to take some nice architecture shots of venues from inside, for example churches, function centres etc. but would also like to use it as a portrait lens.

I currently use 35L on one body and 70-200II on the other body.

35L is a great lens, love the sharpness and image quality but i find that its not wide enough at times.. would 24mm make a huge difference compared to 35 in terms of the field of view?.. or is it better to go with 16-35II?

24 is a pretty big improvement as far as field of view goes.. 11mm doesn't sound like much, but it is.

It can be wide enough for indoor, but 16-35 would serve you better there.. though I think the 24-70 would get much more use for events.

Keep in mind, with a bit of practice, you can shoot multiple indoor shots and stitch them together to get that wider FOV, so 24-70 might be the best compromise for you.

You are shooting with FF dSLR. 24mm has been plenty wide, as for decades before digital sensors the widest Perspective Control lens offered by the major film SLR manufacturers has been the Canon 24mm TSE and the Olympus 24mm PC lens.

Wider (and without Shift control) is not necessarily better, as you have to position the camera at height that permits you to prevent converging line perspective distortion, and that contrains you in composition.

I find 24mm is wide enough on FF for me the vast majority of the time. I kept my EFS 10-22mm to use on a 7D for those few occasions when I need something wider, but I struggle finding shots where I can use this lens. I am still trying to figure out what (if anything) I want for ultra wide on FF. I may pick up a Samyang/Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 just because it is so affordable, but I am having a difficult time justifying exchanging the 10-22mm for a 17-40L because of my rare use of the 10-22.

24 is considerably wider than 35. Is it wide enough? That depends on you.

For some indoor aerchitectural shots, the 24mm isn't even close to wide enough - even on a full frame.

Say you have a kitchen with an island. Islands are typically 3.5 to 4.5 feet from the counter's edge (the face of the cabinets). You want an image of the sink, refrigerator, range, and all of the surrounding cabinetry - without the island blocking any of these elements. The only way to get this image from the perspective you want to show it from is to stand between the island and the sink. 24mm won't get you anywhere near enough of the surrounding cabinetry - you'd have to take three images and stitch them to get what you want.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #15417127
For some indoor aerchitectural shots, the 24mm isn't even close to wide enough - even on a full frame.

Say you have a kitchen with an island. Islands are typically 3.5 to 4.5 feet from the counter's edge (the face of the cabinets). You want an image of the sink, refrigerator, range, and all of the surrounding cabinetry - without the island blocking any of these elements. The only way to get this image from the perspective you want to show it from is to stand between the island and the sink. 24mm won't get you anywhere near enough of the surrounding cabinetry - you'd have to take three images and stitch them to get what you want.

You are right, of course, but how do you straighten the verticals say on a 16 mm shot (FF of course...). We are not talking about mild convergence which can be corrected in Photoshop... We are talking curvature(s)

Stitching is an answer...

I don't shoot architecture but tried 24-105mm at 24mm for some chrostmas light shots recently and I wish I had something like 17-40L or 16-35mm. I don't know folks saying 24mm is wide enough on 17-40L. Inside churches same thing, tried 24mm and I will have to stitch multiple shots.

Wait until March '13 and get the Samyang 24mm Tilt/Shift

Example shots...
One with 24mm shift lens, the other with 16mm conventional

You have a very nice family room, Wilt!
Great examples, and a very well made point in favor of the 24mm focal length.