Originally Posted by bburns223
That is precisely where Canon has a gaping whole in their lineup. There is no *good* option between the 400mm f/5.6 for $1200 and the 500mm f/4 for $6,200.
I suggest buying an old, used 300mm f/2.8 non-IS and using it with a teleconverters (2X makes a nice 600mm f/5.6). The IS versions are $4,200 new and recent used ones sell for around $3,500 used, but I've seen plenty of old non-IS versions go for $2,500.
If you are opposed to buying used, then I suggest you consider third party lenses from Sigma and Tamron. Unlike Canon, they do have some birding lenses between $1200 and $2500.
If you are opposed to used and third party, then there's nothing you can do but make do suboptimal choices like the 400mm f/5.6 and 100-400. (At least they are lightweight!)
I'm in the market for a nice $2500 birding lens too, so I hope Canon will add one to their line someday. (I'd like it as long as slow as possible, 1000mm f/10 manual focus would be great for me, but probably not marketable.)
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