Nikkor 12-24DX and Nikkor 18-70DX Compared

Series of images taken at the same camera to subject distance. 100% crops from the center of the images. Shot wide open on the 18-70DX at F/3.5 at 18mm and F/3.8 at 24mm, then at even stops from F/4 to F/16 on each lens.

It is interesting that this 18-70DX is almost as sharp wide open as the F/8-F/11 range. The 18-70DX is sharper than the 12-24DX wide open, the lenses are comparable at F/8 or so.

This 12-24Dx is sharpest wide open at 12mm and probably sharper at 12mm at all apertures. This is counter to the major lens reviews, which indicate that the 12-24DX is not as sharp at 12mm.