Justify the buy - Nikkor 10-20mm vs 10-24mm

I don't like buying new, but from time to time it makes sense. It's been longer than I thought since I bought a superwide zoom for my Nikon camera - nearly seven years. Over that time, the Nikkor 10-24mm lens has delivered stunning photos. Since then, Nikon has brought out a new lens in the same category. It has two advantages over the old one. One is size and weight. The new 10-20mm lens is - would you believe it - less than half the weight of the old one, and significantly smaller. The other is vibration reduction (VR - or in Canon parlance, image stabilisation or IS). VR allows photos to be taken at longer exposures without fear of camera shake. Drawbacks? The new lens is a whole stop darker than the old one (maximum aperture is f4.5 rather than f3.5, and it zooms out to 20mm rather than 24mm.

Neither drawback can overcome the weight/size difference. The new one is 227g, the old one 465g. That's a noticeable difference when carrying it around your neck all day long. Nearly a quarter of a kilo (half a pound) less for something that does the same job. Some camera snobs like the weight and solidity of the old 10-24mm zoom, with its metal mount, focus-scale window, separate zoom and focus rings and autofocus switch. For me, it's like the difference between the paperback and hardback versions of the same novel; same content, but the hardback was designed with an eye on posterity.

The old lens I intend to sell on OLX or Allegro - the prices for a good used 10-24mm (around 1,700zł) are higher than the new price for a 10-20mm model (under 1,500zł).

First results are pleasing - I can't see any visual difference between the two. The newest versions of Photoshop correct any chromatic aberrations and distortion for both lenses. One caveat is that the new lens does not work on Nikon bodies earlier than the D3300 (and corresponding premium models).

Below: the two lenses side by side. The size difference is evident; the new lens (left) has a 72mm filter ring, the old one's is 77mm.

The old lens below looks more 'impressive' than the new one... bottom.

This time six years ago:
The Big Melt

This time nine years ago:
Waiting for the meltdown

This time 11 years ago:
Warsaw's inadequate airport (since then, Terminal Two has opened, a railway line links it to the city centre and a new road links it to the motorway network)