I had an Epson 1400 (A3) with a Permajet CIS (Continous Ink System) , the Permajet Inks were nice and colours good but the CIS itself was a pain in the ass, gave me numerous headaches poor quality and not worth a fraction of what it cost, I go as far as saying it was crap.
The heads on the 1400 also tended to block up too easily, my previous printer was also an Epson (a cheap A4 model) and came with a £30 Chinese CIS, it lasted around 6 years cost me a total of about £25 in ink and hardly ever gave me trouble, you don't always get what you pay for.

When the 1400 gave up the ghost I bought a cheap Brother 3 in 1, it runs flawlessly, unfortunately the print's leave a lot to be desired as it only has basic CMY & Black, whatever you get make sure it has 6 colours plus the black.

If you don't fancy the expense of Manufacturers Inks then consider a model that will take refillable cartridges, much less hassle than a CIS and just as economical.

500 is much better in terms of reach and if you can afford one then go for it.

As said I have the Sigma 50-500 which to be honest is a bit of a waste at the shorter end, it rarely gets used much below 300mm, and as it's a beast to carry it's not really suitable for a walkabout lens.
I tend to take it to a bird hide and stay put, I never hesitated to carry the 80-320 around with me, it was a fraction of the weight.

What's best for you really depends on several factors, the distance you'll be shooting from, whether you want to trek round with it etc. more importantly how close you can get to your subject.

Essentially it comes down to:
500mm = heavy, not as fast, needs good light, much better reach.
300mm = easy to carry, probably a couple of stops faster, less risk of camera shake, a lot less reach and the need for more cropping.

If your really on a tight budget then consider the old Pentax 80-320 FA, I would imagine you could pick one up for less than £100 now. (make sure you buy the silver version)

The lens tends to hunt for focus a lot, although may be better with newer cameras with improved focusing, last time I used mine was on the K10D. for a budget lens the quality is excellent, but it is a Pentax after all

I sold mine after buying the Sigma 50-500 and often wish I hadn't

Now Sold.

Quite untrue, otherwise why would I have kept it all these years? after the istD I bought a K10D, then a K20D, then a K5 and I now have a K3II

Following the demise of the K10D I have the K5 and K3II in my camera bag, so why wouldn't I leave them behind and take the istD if there was a risk of damage, it's worth far less than It would cost me to buy a decent compact and I find it far more versatile, plus who needs huge files for party snaps.

The *istD is handy for parties where I'll be too inebriated to look after a K3II

And I can give it to my 7 year old Granddaughter to play with,

Large Tamrac Lens case.

Designed to fit onto the webbing of Tamrac bags but would probably fit Lowepro etc
Can also be used on a belt.

Internal: Approx 15cm deep 8cm wide, takes my A*300mm easily, takes the DA*50-135 without the lens hood.

In excellent condition, velcro and press stud fastenings perfect.

Asking £12 including tracked UK post.

Pictures on my Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/alanchapman/

Now that's just showing off

More like Pentax found them, I think Chris is a little more organised

I have the Asahi Super Tak as above.

I don't really want to sell it but to be honest getting the free 50mm with the K3II means it's unlikely I'll use it much.

Good clean condition, there are signs of use but no dings or dents or anything that detracts, the optics are also very clean, has original rear cap and front metal cap.

Looking of feebay prices seem to vary enormously for this lens so I can't get a clear idea of what it's worth.

I'm thinking £40 plus postage at cost to wherever.

If there's any serious interest let me know and I'll take some pics.

EDIT: got the original case but it's a bit tatty.