Sorry to hear about the scratch on the front element of your DA 16-45. Occasionally one hears about the possibility of such a scratch as a reason to keep a filter on.
I can't comment on the DA 12-24. I'll probably never buy it (don't feel I need it). I have, however, systematically compared the performance of the DA 14 against the DA 16-45 at 16 mm. The surprising result was that the DA 16-45 was sharper. I did not evaluate for rectilinear correction. Joe
