In terms of quality, flare, and resolution, this is the finest DX lens Nikon has made to date.
Still testing; However, this lens, so far, is nothing but amazing; I would say it might be one of the best DX lens Nikon has made to date - at least at the long end; At 10' the 80mm covers 2' x 3'; Some very slight pincushion distortion; Very slight.
I see some barrel distortion at 16mm - maybe 3-4%; Pretty typical for almost all 16mm lenses out there and ALL wide angle zooms; At 80mm there is also a very small amount of pin cushion distortion - certainly less than 1%; There is also some vignetting at 16mm.