Camera Conversions

A field guide to converting your camera for infrared.

What actually happens inside the body, how to pick a wavelength, whether to convert a DSLR or a mirrorless — and when a full-spectrum conversion with clip-in filters beats them both.

About the photographer →

The short version

The hot mirror comes out. A new filter goes in.

Every digital camera has a filter glued in front of the sensor to block near-infrared light. A conversion removes it. In its place, a shop installs a new filter tuned to a wavelength you choose — or clear glass, if you want the whole spectrum. Autofocus is recalibrated for the new light and white balance is set against a neutral IR reference. The camera is now dedicated to seeing what your eyes can’t.

It’s permanent. It’s not a filter effect. And it’s the single change that opens infrared as a daily practice instead of a novelty.

Choosing a wavelength

590nm vs 665nm vs 720nm vs 850nm.

The number is the cut-on: light shorter than it is blocked, light longer passes through. Lower numbers let in more of the visible spectrum (especially red) and give you more color to work with. Higher numbers give you cleaner, more classic black-and-white infrared.

590nm

Goldie

Warm, painterly, closest to a normal photograph.

Foliage: Gold / peach
Sky: Deep teal

Portraits with foliage, autumn scenes, editorial color work.

665nm

Extra color

Balanced false-color — white trees, blue skies, pink accents.

Foliage: White with pink
Sky: Blue

All-round landscape and travel. What this site is shot on.

720nm

Standard IR

High contrast, mostly monochromatic out of camera.

Foliage: Bright white
Sky: Near-black

Classic IR and easy conversion to fine-art B&W.

850nm

Deep IR

Pure infrared. No color information — this is a B&W tool.

Foliage: Glowing white
Sky: Black

Dramatic monochrome landscapes and long-exposure water.

Infrared cut-on wavelengths compared: foliage, sky, colour and best use
Wavelength	Foliage	Sky	Colour left to work with	Best for
590nm — Goldie	Gold / peach	Deep teal	Most — a full channel swap works	Portraits with foliage, autumn scenes, editorial color work.
665nm — Extra color	White with pink	Blue	Plenty — the balanced choice for false colour	All-round landscape and travel. What this site is shot on.
720nm — Standard IR	Bright white	Near-black	Very little; effectively monochrome	Classic IR and easy conversion to fine-art B&W.
850nm — Deep IR	Glowing white	Black	None	Dramatic monochrome landscapes and long-exposure water.

590nm — Goldie

Foliage: Gold / peach
Sky: Deep teal
Colour left to work with: Most — a full channel swap works
Best for: Portraits with foliage, autumn scenes, editorial color work.

665nm — Extra color

Foliage: White with pink
Sky: Blue
Colour left to work with: Plenty — the balanced choice for false colour
Best for: All-round landscape and travel. What this site is shot on.

720nm — Standard IR

Foliage: Bright white
Sky: Near-black
Colour left to work with: Very little; effectively monochrome
Best for: Classic IR and easy conversion to fine-art B&W.

850nm — Deep IR

Foliage: Glowing white
Sky: Black
Colour left to work with: None
Best for: Dramatic monochrome landscapes and long-exposure water.

Descriptions reflect how these wavelengths render in my own frames; exact colour depends on the body, the light and your processing.

Read the full wavelength comparison →Then: which camera to convert →Check the current filter options →

Links to Kolari Vision are affiliate links: if you buy through them the site earns a commission at no extra cost to you. They are the shop my own conversions and filters came from, and the recommendation would be the same without the program — full disclosure.

Bodies

DSLR or mirrorless?

Both convert well. Image quality is essentially identical behind the same filter. What differs is the shooting experience — and in infrared, that difference matters.

DSLR

The traditional workhorse.

+ Huge selection of cheap used bodies (D750, 6D, 5D III).
+ Long battery life, familiar controls.
− Optical viewfinder shows a normal scene, not the IR image.
− AF may need per-lens micro-adjust after conversion.

Mirrorless

What-you-see-is-what-you-get.

+ EVF previews the actual IR image, live, with custom white balance.
+ Sensor-based AF is accurate at every wavelength, every lens.
+ Silent shutter and IBIS on many bodies.
− Some lens/body combos show a center hot-spot — check databases first.

If you’re starting from zero, buy a used mirrorless body and convert it. The live IR preview makes the whole practice legible.

Read the full DSLR vs mirrorless breakdown →

Full spectrum

One body. Every wavelength. Filter-defined.

A full-spectrum conversion replaces the hot mirror with clear glass, so the sensor sees UV, the entire visible spectrum, and the whole near-infrared range. The filter you put in front of it — or clip into it — decides which slice you record for that shot.

Option A

Screw-on lens filters

Threaded glass on the front of each lens (Hoya R72, B+W 093, Kolari IR Chrome). Works on any body — including DSLRs — but you must compose before mounting the filter, and buying every diameter gets expensive fast.

+ Works with any camera you already own.
+ Massive selection of filters and wavelengths.
− Slow workflow: unscrew, compose, re-mount.
− Cost multiplies with every new lens diameter.

Option B

Clip-in filters

A thin square of glass that snaps into the body between mount and sensor. One filter works across every lens; swap wavelengths in seconds; the EVF stays IR-accurate. Body-specific (Sony E, Canon RF, Nikon Z, Fuji X) and mirrorless only.

+ One filter, every lens.
+ Fast on-location swaps between 665/720/850/UV.
+ No vignetting on ultra-wide glass.
− Mount-specific; requires mirrorless clearance.

Brands: Kolari · STC · Haida

Full-spectrum conversion compared with a dedicated single-wavelength conversion
Approach	Wavelengths available	Workflow	Extra kit needed	Best for
Dedicated conversion (e.g. 665nm or 720nm)	One, fixed at conversion time	Pick up and shoot — nothing to add in front of the lens	None	One clear look, lowest total cost, DSLR or mirrorless
Full spectrum + clip-in filters	Any, chosen per shot	Swap a filter inside the body in seconds; one filter covers every lens	A clip-in filter per wavelength; mount-specific	Mirrorless shooters who want every look from one body
Full spectrum + screw-on lens filters	Any, chosen per shot	Unscrew, compose, re-mount for each frame	A filter per lens diameter (or step-up rings)	Anyone, including DSLR users, who already owns filter threads

Dedicated conversion (e.g. 665nm or 720nm)

Wavelengths available: One, fixed at conversion time
Workflow: Pick up and shoot — nothing to add in front of the lens
Extra kit needed: None
Best for: One clear look, lowest total cost, DSLR or mirrorless

Full spectrum + clip-in filters

Wavelengths available: Any, chosen per shot
Workflow: Swap a filter inside the body in seconds; one filter covers every lens
Extra kit needed: A clip-in filter per wavelength; mount-specific
Best for: Mirrorless shooters who want every look from one body

Full spectrum + screw-on lens filters

Wavelengths available: Any, chosen per shot
Workflow: Unscrew, compose, re-mount for each frame
Extra kit needed: A filter per lens diameter (or step-up rings)
Best for: Anyone, including DSLR users, who already owns filter threads

A full-spectrum mirrorless body with a set of clip-in filters is the closest thing infrared has to a Swiss-army knife.

Read the full full-spectrum guide →Check the current clip-in filter options →

Ready to convert?

Where I send my own cameras.

My converted bodies and the filters in front of them came from Kolari Vision, and that is the shop I point people to. They convert to each of the wavelengths above, recalibrate autofocus at conversion time, and publish a public lens hotspot database that is useful even if you never buy from them.

That is my editorial recommendation based on using their work, not a claim about the whole market — I have not tested competing conversion services, and my methodology page spells out what I do and do not verify. Check current pricing and turnaround on their site; I do not quote prices here because they change.

Before you order, read these

Keep reading

Four field notes on infrared conversions.

Open the journal →