Camera Labs

I'm going to be holidaying in Fairbanks, Alaska in September 2008, and will of course be taking up the opportunity to get a few hundred shots of the Aurora Borealis.
Now here is my problem, I am new to DSLR photography and have only had my camera a few weeks and as yet have not been able to get out to practice some "Night shots" due to really bad weather (Torrential Rain). I have no idea were to begin in regards to what lens I should use. As I'm going from the Tropics to such a cold place, will I need to buy a different lens to the ones I already have to suit the aperture/shutter speed for this type of shot in this type of weather, or will one of my current lenses suit.
I currently have a Sony alpha700 with a sony18-70mm/f3.5-5.6,
Sony18-200m /f3.5-6.3,Sony75-300mm/f4.5-5.6, & Sigma wide angle 10-20mm/f1.4-5.6
All help and info will be greatly appreciated.

Well if your Sigma was 1.4 as you wrote (Im guessing its a misspell ) you would be all set. I think for nightime photography such as you mentioned, you'll need a tripod. If you have alot of cash you want to spend, a faster lens would also be good, perhaps something along the lines of 18-50 2.8, or maybe a fast prime. I do think that you will still need a tripod, however, for the best pictures and if you decide to go for one, your current lenses should be fine. Perhaps a remote trigger as well. Thats what I would do and save some money instead of buying those expensive fast lenses (except some of the primes which can be quiet cheap though they seldom offer a very wide angle)

-John

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Nikon D700, Nikon F301, Nikon FG and Nikon FM
Nikon 105mm f2.8 VR, Sigma 12-24mm, Nikkor 50mm f1.8 D, Nikkor 50mm f1.4 AI, Sigma 35-70 f2.8-4
Benro C-297 w/Benro KS-2

Thanks johngunnar for the tips. Sorry I forgot to mention I have a tripod and a remote trigger already. Oh and the Sigma is 10-20mm 1:4-5.6DC
Like I said its all new to me as I'm used to point and click stuff. But due to the generosity of my husband at xmas, I am now the owner of a new camera with lots of accessories and no knowledge on how to get those great shots it supposed to give me. I'm hoping I can learn alot before we leave for Alaska.
Thanks Again!

Hi Narell, there was a thread about shooting Aurora here:

http://www.cameralabs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=676

PS - and we have a workshop on night photography here:

http://www.dslrtips.com/workshops/How_t ... sure.shtml

Thanks Gordon, much appreciated.

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Sony alpha700
sony18-70mm/f3.5-5.6,
Sony18-200m /f3.5-6.3,
Sony75-300mm/f4.5-5.6,
Sigma wide angle 10-20mm/f1:4-5.6