Sorry to hear about that, it's a real pain when something like a washing machine interferes with the cumulation of much more important hardware

Agreed, they certainly don't carry any weight for me in specialist markets such as D-SLRs, HiFi or even high end TVs.
More suited to white goods such as washing machines etc

Yes there is that too, which is just another factor swinging me the the direction of the 100-300mm at this point.
I'm really amazed at the sharpness and definition that this lens appears to be capable of with the Sigma 1.4x APO fitted.

Hi Barry, yes that option had crossed my mind too but I haven't seen any examples anywhere with the DA* 300 and x1.7TC. I have seen quite a few frankly stunning shots on a wildlife forum with the Sigma 100-300mm f/4 EX DG IF and 1.4x APO Tele-converter combination, all be it in a Canon mount.

Thanks Gwyn and Mike, yes that new Bigma looks interesting, I wonder what the price will be as it now packs optical stabilisation and HSM?

Thanks for the offer that's very kind of you but I don't think your zoom will be fast enough at the long end.
I'm looking for a minimum of f/4 @ 300mm so when matched to 1.4x APO Tele-converter I'll end up with f/5.6 @ 420mm.

I'm thinking of (have been thinking for a while) about a longer zoom. It will be used for wildlife and occasional air show shots. My priority is image quality and light gathering capability.

I already have the 60-250 which is a lovely lens but unfortunately doesn't pair too well with tele-converters. I shall be keeping it though just because the image quality is rather nice

So in addition I'm currently thinking along the lines of the following two options:-

1) Sigma 100-300mm f/4 EX DG IF together with a Sigma 1.4x APO Tele-converter
2) Sigma 150-500mm f/5.6-6.3 APO DG HSM

Obviously option one is more costly and shorter but gives more flexibility and a faster aperture at the long end. Image quality seems to be generally excellent from what I've read even with the matched tele-converter (which is important to me)
Option two gives me more money in my piggy bank and is an all in one solution with a longer focal length. However it's a bit heavier and probably less flexible that the 100-300 + x1.4 solution. Not sure whether HSM is a good or bad thing?

I would be interested to know users thoughts on image quality, built quality general ease of use. Perhaps also some other options I could consider in this sort of price range.
Thanks.

Or Olympus (runs even faster and hides)

I recommend the Arctic Butterfly it does a good job at displacing / removing dust particles.

Thanks Will, the amazing thing is that almost every time no cloning is needed. In the Boscastle Harbour inlet (above) it's straight from ICE with a resize and slight highlight adjustment. There can be the odd occasion where you would need to clone for a slight mismatch if you were shooting wide for example but generally ICE does a pretty convincing job.