Which lens for indoors at a cathedral?

With a 5D Mark III,I tested out my 16-35mm at a cathedral in New York. Shooting down the nave on a tripod at 16mm pushed everything too far away. I used my 24 T/S which I liked better, especially the shift function for the columns. But I got a narrower angle and less of the sides of the nave.

Two questions I have. First, can I use the 24mm T/S tilt function to get three shots, middle, left and right, then merge them in PS for a wider shot of the nave? Will that look natural or distorted?

Second, should I simply rent a 17mm T/S to get a wider point of view in the first place without stitching?

Or what other suggestions do you have?

you can always try stitching see what results you get and you can rent the 17mm T/S see which you like more

Ilovetheleafs wrote in post #15572635
you can always try stitching see what results you get and you can rent the 17mm T/S see which you like more

Yes, I can rent the 17mm for a couple days. Good idea.

tvphotog wrote in post #15572626
With a 5D Mark III,I tested out my 16-35mm at a cathedral in New York. Shooting down the nave on a tripod at 16mm pushed everything too far away. I used my 24 T/S which I liked better, especially the shift function for the columns. But I got a narrower angle and less of the sides of the nave.

Two questions I have. First, can I use the 24mm T/S tilt function to get three shots, middle, left and right, then merge them in PS for a wider shot of the nave? Will that look natural or distorted?

Second, should I simply rent a 17mm T/S to get a wider point of view in the first place without stitching?

Or what other suggestions do you have?

You discovered the challenge of the extreme wide angle lens. It's easy to get a vast expanse of nothingness with all the interesting things far away with wide angles. The challenge is to create an interesting foregound that interacts with the rest of the picture. While the T/S mechanism will certainly be helpful inside, you will still find the same basic challenge with a 17mm as you did with the 16mm.