Originally Posted by jambo

Consider something like Sigma's 70-200 f2.8 EX as a possible halfway house, it's not got IS/VR, but your camera has that built in the body. And it's not astronomically expensive. It can be extended with a 1.4x converter to make it reach further with a reasonable drop off in quality and transmitted light. At £644 from Warehouse express, it's not exactly cheap though.