Infrared lens filters, compared.

The short answer

An infrared lens filter screws onto the front of a lens (or clips in behind it) and decides which wavelengths reach the sensor. On a full-spectrum converted camera the filter is the whole look: 590nm gives warm gold false colour, 665nm gives balanced pink-and-blue colour, 720nm is the classic bright-white-foliage standard, 850nm is pure black and white, and IRChrome imitates the red-foliage Aerochrome film look straight out of camera. If you buy one first, buy 720nm — it is the most forgiving and the most recognisably “infrared.”

Every filter below is one I have shot on my own full-spectrum Nikon Z7II or on bodies converted to that exact wavelength. The filters work on any full-spectrum camera; on an unconverted camera they only produce long, noisy exposures, because the camera’s internal hot mirror blocks nearly all infrared.

The filters side by side

Comparison of common infrared lens filters by look, exposure cost and best use
Filter	The look	Exposure cost	Best for
590nm (Goldie)	Gold and peach foliage over teal skies; the warmest false colour.	About 1–2 stops	Portraits with foliage, autumn colour, editorial work.
665nm (Extra color)	White foliage with pink accents over blue skies; the balanced all-rounder.	About 1–2 stops	Everyday landscape and travel false colour.
720nm (Standard IR)	Bright white foliage and near-black skies; a hint of colour remains.	About 2–3 stops	The classic infrared look and easy black-and-white conversions. Best first filter.
850nm (Deep IR)	No colour at all — pure high-contrast monochrome straight out of camera.	About 3–4 stops	Dramatic fine-art black and white, long-exposure water.
IRChrome Lite	Red and rust-orange foliage over cyan skies — the Aerochrome film look with no channel swap.	About 2 stops	The Aerochrome look on a full-spectrum body with zero post-processing.

590nm (Goldie)

The look: Gold and peach foliage over teal skies; the warmest false colour.
Exposure cost: About 1–2 stops
Best for: Portraits with foliage, autumn colour, editorial work.

665nm (Extra color)

The look: White foliage with pink accents over blue skies; the balanced all-rounder.
Exposure cost: About 1–2 stops
Best for: Everyday landscape and travel false colour.

720nm (Standard IR)

The look: Bright white foliage and near-black skies; a hint of colour remains.
Exposure cost: About 2–3 stops
Best for: The classic infrared look and easy black-and-white conversions. Best first filter.

850nm (Deep IR)

The look: No colour at all — pure high-contrast monochrome straight out of camera.
Exposure cost: About 3–4 stops
Best for: Dramatic fine-art black and white, long-exposure water.

IRChrome Lite

The look: Red and rust-orange foliage over cyan skies — the Aerochrome film look with no channel swap.
Exposure cost: About 2 stops
Best for: The Aerochrome look on a full-spectrum body with zero post-processing.

Exposure costs are approximate and assume a full-spectrum camera in daylight; always meter off the camera, not a handheld meter.

Infrared photograph made with an IRChrome lens filter: a red Corvette in a field with crimson foliage and teal trees — IRChrome Corvette — full spectrum with IRChrome Lite filter — IRChrome filter, no channel swap

Screw-on filters vs clip-in filters

Screw-on lens filters thread onto the front of the lens like any other photographic filter. They work on every camera system, but each lens thread size needs its own filter or a step-up ring, and wide lenses can vignette through a thick filter ring.

Clip-in filters sit inside the mirrorless camera body, in front of the sensor. One filter covers every lens you own, adds no vignetting, and keeps the front of the lens free — my preference on the Z7II. The trade-off is that they only exist for specific mirrorless mounts, and swapping one means working inside the camera, carefully.

Which infrared filter to buy first

Start with 720nm. It is the standard for a reason: exposures are short, the look is unmistakable, and files convert to black and white with almost no effort.
Add 590nm or 665nm for colour. If the channel-swap workflow appeals, a 665nm filter is the friendlier second purchase.
Add IRChrome for the Aerochrome look. If red foliage is what drew you to infrared, skip straight to it — it needs no post-processing at all. More in the IRChrome field notes.
Watch for hotspots. Any filter is only as good as the lens behind it — run the ten-minute hotspot test before a trip.

Next step

Where I buy infrared filters

My conversions and filters came from Kolari Vision — they make every filter on this page in both screw-on and clip-in versions, and their lens hotspot database is the one I check before buying glass. Buying through these links supports this site at no extra cost to you.

Shop infrared lens filters →See clip-in 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.

Common questions

Do infrared lens filters work on a normal, unconverted camera?

Barely. The hot mirror inside an unconverted camera blocks almost all infrared, so a 720nm filter forces exposures of several seconds even in sun, with noisy results. Filters are meant to be paired with a full-spectrum conversion.

What is the difference between a 720nm filter and an R72 filter?

They are the same thing. Hoya popularised the R72 designation; 720nm is the cut-on wavelength. Any reputable 720nm filter behaves the same.

Can I stack infrared filters?

No — stacking a 590nm over a 720nm just gives you 720nm with extra flare risk. One filter at a time; the deeper cut-on always wins.

Do clip-in filters affect autofocus?

On mirrorless bodies, no — focusing happens on the imaging sensor, so it is correct at whatever wavelength reaches it. That is one of the strongest arguments for a mirrorless full-spectrum body.