One more ? Re: Lens

[shayebryd]

What lens would you suggest for the following (and "why", since I am a novice this information would be very educational):

When on vacation I love taking natural photos of the natives in their daily lives....which zoom lens would you suggest that would be the least intrusive....also taking into consideration the weight of lens and one where a tripod would not be needed.
Thank you in advance!
Happy Sunday! :)

[jerryph]

If it is a low light situation, you need fast glass which is usually quite expensive and ones with IS or VR also added more to the bill, but let you get killer shots from a distance.

However, if it is during a bright day, you can often find zoom lenses in the 70-300mm range that are slower (something like a F/3.5-5.6) and lower in cost.

I am more into Nikon, and am not aware of all the options a Canon user has in any great detail.