Help Please: IS Lens Choice

I'd really like to get my hands on a stabilized lens for my Rebel XTi. A search of the options available completely baffles me, there are so many choices. I want a "tourist" lens, a jack of all trades as it were. I realize that a lens like this will not have spectacular performance at either end of the spectrum, but something that can do decent "person(s) standing in front of landmark" pictures, as well as a good zoom to get a good look at some far off object.

I do have another "want", and that is decent low-light performance. I don't need night vision, but one of the most frustrating features of my multiple-stock-canon-lens collection is that anytime you're in a low light situation, the lenses demand a flash - or, you have to play statue or brace the camera against something solid in the hope of preventing motion blur. Anything I could get that would delay the necessity for a flash or tripod would be nice.

I was thinking something like one of these might be OK:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._5_5_6_IS.html

Budget? - TF

$450 +/- $100. For an exceptional lens or necessity I might make deviate more.

Hmmm, that's a lot to ask from one lens, especially with a relatively small budget. I think the lens you linked to covers a nice range and seems to fill your request from the first part of your post.

After reading the second part of your post, I think the lens you linked to is going to be too slow. When you say 'motion blur' are you talking about your subject not being sharp because it's moving, or because the camera/you are moving i.e. camera shake? Motion blur and camera shake are two very different things. Based on everything you said, I'm assuming you are talking about camera shake. The IS should help out a lot with this, but IS can only do so much. A faster maximum aperture along with IS would really help. I'm guessing that the lens you linked to isn't much faster than your stock lenses. You may want to look for something with a faster aperture, but I don't think there is a fast lens with a wide zoom range like you are looking for.

I guess I just need better speed, the shutter remaining open allows both motion blur and camera shake to blur the subject. I'd be willing to sacrifice some zoom ability to get the better low-light capability. My fav stock lens is an 18-55 and that stays on the camera 90% or the time.

Any more suggestions?

well there is no huge f/2.8 superzoom, which sounds like what you want. The one you linked to is the best for what you said you were looking for, *except* for the speed issue. I would consider getting the lens you linked and adding the 50mm f/1.8 to it for the specific purpose of low-light and fast aperture use, its only some $90, great quality, fastest aperture you'll get under $350...

As far as combining the need for huge range and fast aperture, sorry but you get one or the other.

I'll take a look at the 50mm lens. Honestly, it isn't necessarily the super zoom I'm needing, something down to 100 would have been OK, but I can see that my options are limited by my budget.

A bit more research shows that probably something in the "L" series would have been best, say 24-70 or 24-105. Unfortunately they're way out my budget.

Thanks much for the help!