Sharpness Cont... 2

Sharpness at 24mm

The sharpness tests for this review were carried out using a real-world subject rather than a test chart. The Nikkor 16-35mm f4 VR lens was attached to a Nikon D700 body, which in turn was mounted on a sturdy tripod. Exposure Delay Mode was activated. Slight tonal changes are due to slight changes in natural light during the session. The 100% crops represent about 1/300th of the total frame area.

The full frame at 24mm

Similarly to the 16mm setting, the centre is sharpest at f/5.6, with diffraction starting to become noticeable at f/16, though I would not hesitate using even f/22 if I needed it for depth of field. The edges are a little soft at f/4 but very sharp from f/5.6 to f/11, and again, while the last two f-stops are a tiny bit less sharp, I see no reason not to use them. 

Aperture	Centre Crop	Edge Crop
f/4
f/5.6
f/8
f/11
f/16
f/22