You already have the 70-200mm f/4L, which delivers excellent image quality.
Originally Posted by zacotton
Let's be clear about the lens you're considering - there's an EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM, which is a cheap consumer zoom (~$200). The build quality of that lens is poor and the image quality (IQ) is equivalently poor. There's also the EF 70-300mmf/4-5.6 IS USM lens, which is a mid-range consumer zoom that has decent IQ and better build quality, and has IS. But, that lens is not so good from 200-300mm, the range you're looking to move into. Honestly, since you have the 70-200mm f/4L, I suspect you'd be disappointed with the IQ of either of those consumer zoom lenses, and 300mm is not all that much longer than 200mm (i.e. you'd likely be better off cropping, as Jan suggested).
Originally Posted by zacotton
Presumably you mean a 3rd party teleconverter, since the Canon 1.4x Extender is not compatible with the 70-300mm or 75-300mm zooms. A 1.4x TC on a lens that's f/5.6 (which both consumer zooms are at the long end) means your lens is f/8. Only 1-series bodies can autofocus with an f/8 lens (which is one reason the Canon 1.4x won't work with the consumer zooms). Some 3rd party TCs don't report the aperture properly, so your camera will try to autofocus - but AF will perform poorly (if at all) in some conditions.
For getting to 300mm (well, 280mm, but the 20mm is not significant), your best (and most cost-effective) option would be the 1.4x Extender on your 70-200mm f/4L. As you can see from [url="http://www.The-Digital-Picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=104&Camera=452&Sample=0&am p;FLI=4&API=1&LensComp=358&CameraComp= 452&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=4&APIComp=0]this comparison[/url], the 70-200mm f/4L @ 280mm f/5.6 is much sharper than the 70-300mm @ 300mm f/5.6. Certainly, you'll take a slight IQ hit from the TC, but it's not too bad. With a 2x TC, you're again at f/8, meaning you lose AF.
So, the bottom line is that if you think ~300mm will do the trick, the 1.4x Extender II plus the 70-200mm f/4L that you already have is the best option.
[quote=zacotton]I think that the 100-400 is a bit much considering my body[/quote]
I'm not sure what you mean by this. Is it that such a big lens with a Rebel hanging on the back will look silly? [:P] Personally, I don't think there's such a thing as 'too much lens' for any body. The lens has a much greater impact on IQ than the body, meaning a good lens on a T1i will deliver better IQ than a mediocre lens on a $6K 1DsIII. Also, keep in mind that a lens will last you through multiple body upgrades - it's a long-term investment.
If you need 400mm, the 100-400mm is a great option if you can afford it - IQ is excellent, and the zoom range allows for a lot of flexibility. If you like, you can check out<span>[url="/forums/t/4121.aspx]lynx0069's recent air show shots [/url]taken with a Rebel XSi and 100-400mm, or look over a [url="http://www.pixel-peeper.com/adv/?lens=589&camera=1201&perpage=30&focal _min=none&focal_max=none&aperture_min=none &aperture_max=none&iso_min=none&iso_ma x=none&exp_min=none&exp_max=none&res=3]set of images on pixel-peeper[/url] taken with the T1i + 100-400mm. Personally, I have theEF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6<span style="color: red;"]LIS USM and it performs wonderfully on my 7D.