So I finally bit the bullet and sold off my old D850 kit to go full mirrorless with the Z7II and while the autofocus and weight are a dream I am genuinely struggling to pick a daily driver lens. Back in my F-mount days it was so simple I just lived on the 24-70mm 2.8 and called it a day but the Z system has so many weirdly good options that it's actually making me second guess everything.

Ive been looking at the 24-120mm f/4 S because everyone says the optics are basically perfect for a zoom but then I see people taking incredible landscape shots with the 24-200mm which usually I would stay away from because superzooms are usually soft as butter but apparently the Z mount magic changed that? I am headed out to the Olympic Peninsula next month for a two week trip and I really dont want to be swapping lenses constantly in the rain and mist. I need one lens that can handle the wide shots for the coast and enough reach for some occasional wildlife or just tighter compression on the trees without me having to fumble in a camera bag every five minutes.

Budget is around 1300 bucks give or take so the 24-70mm 2.8 S is probably out of reach unless I find a crazy used deal which usually doesnt happen for that glass. I considered the 24-70 f/4 since its so tiny and cheap used but I feel like I might miss that extra reach on the long end.

Has anyone actually compared the 24-120 against the 24-200 in real world trekking conditions? Is the S-line badge on the 120 really worth giving up that extra 80mm of reach when you're mostly stopping down for landscapes anyway? I keep going back and forth on whether I value the constant f/4 more than the versatility of a true do-it-all lens. What are you guys actually keeping on your camera 90% of the time...