[Leica] OT gear advice needed

[philippe.amard at tele2.fr (Philippe AMARD)]

Hi All,

an excellent friend of mine shoots a consumer line Canon 400 and would 
like a trans-standard zoom lens to replace the one in the kit, because 
he doesn't want to carry two lenses and his his too limited.

The 18 - 200/300 range would be fine and we're planning to present him 
with one on his birthday mid september.

Problem: I've read very bad reviews of the Canon consumer 18-200, Tamron 
too, and I don't know about Sigma.

Note: my friend is a family/holiday amateur shooter - he doesn't care 
about specs so long as it works for him. My concern is rather about 
stabilisation and user friendliness ( is he not my friend?)..

Could you help me pick out one that would fit in?
The price tag is not so important as the ease of use, reliability, and 
versatility.

Thanks in anticipation for advice, experience and help.
Phx