As a walk around lens, this lens fills a niche that FX owners have always asked for-manageable length and weight, relatively faster(compared to the so-called consumer lenses), VR etc. What Nikon has also added is the standardized 77mm filter size which means I can use all my filters w/o the annoying step-up rings.
This is not exactly a light-weight glass but feels very well balanced on the D700, F6 and a D3(borrowed). I am not into pixel-peeping. So overall the sharpness that I am getting at the wider end at F/4-5.6, I am happy.
It´s definitely better than the older 24-120VR in terms of contrast and sharpness. Don´t compare it with the 24-70, as the extra shallow DOF in the later provides a very different kind of composition when shooting wide open.
It also vignettes around 24 FL when I stack up my filters. Usually it´s gone by 28-30 mm. Distortion is also not terrible and easily corrected in Lightroom or other PP software.
I guess finally this lens is going to replace my old, trusted, battered 28-200g in my bag!

This new lens will be useful for wedding and press
photographers. With the largest opening aperture,
we can get the more sharpness and details.
Finally this lens will be very useful in indoor and outdoor.