You're repeating the point I was trying to make - the Long Telephoto lens freaks people out, but my iPhone (which actually does a better job of capturing detail

You're repeating the point I was trying to make - the Long Telephoto lens freaks people out, but my iPhone (which actually does a better job of capturing details in low light than my EOS-10D+70-200) has always been ignored. The big lens is considered "rude" and looks "creepy" whereas the discreet camera (or iPhone) doesn't cause issues. It has nothing to do with what you are doing, just what you are doing it with.