The hot mirror filter sits in front of the sensor on all digital cameras to block infrared light. A converted camera replaces the hot mirror with an infrared high-pass filter or clear glass for full-spectrum. It shoots infrared at normal shutter speeds, handheld, in every style. The conversion is permanent and voids the warranty, so consider these factors.
In practice:
- Convert a mirrorless camera. It focuses on the sensor, so every lens focuses accurately in infrared. A DSLR works only if you focus with live view or calibrate a prime lens to focus via the optical viewfinder.
- Stay in the system you already use. A second body, or an older one after an upgrade, shares your lenses, batteries, and chargers, and you already know its menus.
- Choose full spectrum for flexibility, then add lens filters for each look. Choose a single filter, such as 590 nm or 720 nm, if you want one look without carrying filters.
- Check your lenses for hot spots in the Infrared Lens Database before you convert.
- Skip the features infrared doesn’t need: high ISO, weather sealing, fast frame rates, flash, and video.
If you’re not ready to convert, you can start with an unconverted camera and a 720 nm or deeper filter on a tripod. See Introduction to Infrared Photography and Deep Infrared with an Unconverted Camera.
Focus: Mirrorless or DSLR
A DSLR’s viewfinder autofocus is calibrated for visible light and misses focus in infrared. You can have it calibrated for infrared, but only for one prime lens. Mirrorless cameras and DSLRs in live view focus on the sensor itself, so they focus accurately with any lens.
Convert a mirrorless camera, or a DSLR with live view and a good rear screen. For manual focus, use magnification or focus peaking.
Full Spectrum or a Single Filter
A conversion replaces the hot mirror with either clear glass (full spectrum) or a high-pass filter, such as 590 nm or 720 nm.
- Full spectrum records ultraviolet, visible, and infrared light. On its own, the image has a red-and-violet cast. With a lens filter, it shoots any style: 470 to 850 nm, Dual-Bandpass, Candy Pink, ultraviolet, or ordinary color photos with an IR/UV cut filter.
- A single filter shoots one style with no external lens filter. You can still add lens filters with a higher number. A 590 nm converted camera can also shoot 720 nm or 850 nm with an external lens filter, but it can’t go below 590 nm.
The result is the same either way. A full-spectrum camera with a 590 nm lens filter matches a 590 nm conversion if both filters are the same quality. See Full Spectrum Plus Filter Compared to Converted to Filter.
To choose a filter, see the Infrared Filter Guide.
Lenses and Hot Spots
Lenses are designed for visible light, and some produce a bright hot spot in the center of the frame in infrared. Some show it only at narrow apertures, and zooms can show it at some focal lengths and not others. Mild hot spots are easy to fix in editing; strong ones are hard.
Before you convert, look up the lenses you plan to use in the Infrared Lens Database. See How to Fix Infrared Lens Hot Spots.
Sensor Size, Weight, and Cost
A larger sensor offers better image quality, but it also means a heavier, more expensive kit.
- Compact cameras are the lightest and least expensive to convert. Small-sensor point-and-shoots are good for social media images. Fixed-lens compacts with an APS-C sensor, such as the Fujifilm X100 series and Ricoh GR, make excellent travel cameras.
- Micro four thirds (MFT) and APS-C mirrorless cameras are popular with infrared photographers. They’re light enough for travel and hiking, and print well up to 13x19”.
- Full frame and medium format give the best quality, with heavier bodies and lenses. Converting a medium format camera costs more than some interchangeable-lens cameras.
More megapixels isn’t always better in infrared. Infrared’s longer wavelengths diffract more, and smaller pixels show it sooner, so high-resolution sensors soften at higher ƒ-stops. Look up a camera’s sharpest ƒ-stops for each filter in diffraction.cAm.
What Infrared Doesn’t Need
- High ISO or low-light performance. Most infrared is shot in broad daylight.
- Weather sealing. Nice to have, but you’ll mostly shoot on sunny days.
- Fast frame rates. Most infrared subjects hold still.
- Flash. It won’t help much in daylight, and most flashes output little infrared.
- Video. Color infrared needs a color swap, which is harder on video. Don’t choose a camera for its video features unless you plan to shoot infrared video.
My Infrared Cameras
- Canon SL1, 590 nm: my first infrared conversion was a budget DSLR, a handy little camera, but its fixed rear display was hard to view in daylight.
- Fujifilm X-T20, 590 nm: my longtime workhorse for color infrared, selected for its image quality, lightweight body, and lenses.
- Fujifilm X-T2, full spectrum: my visible light camera was converted to full spectrum after I replaced it with an X-S10 for visible light and video. Full spectrum let me use dual-bandpass filters, such as IR Chrome, as well as a UV bandpass.
- Fujifilm GFX 50S, full spectrum: bought used and already converted. Fantastic image quality, but the body is bulky, and the lenses are heavy.
- Fujifilm X70, full spectrum: my grab-and-go travel camera, with 665 nm, 780 nm, and IR Chrome filters.
- Kolari Pocket, full spectrum: a converted Canon point-and-shoot, with six filters. See the Kolari Pocket Review.
How to Get a Camera Converted
- Send a camera to a conversion company, such as Kolari Vision or Life Pixel. Test the camera first: the conversion voids the warranty, so make sure it works before you ship it. Buy a used camera from a dealer that inspects and tests its stock.
- Buy a camera already converted, new from a conversion company or used. It saves a round of shipping, and you get a camera that’s been tested after conversion.
- Convert it yourself. LifePixel publishes DIY conversion guides for some cameras. Some conversions require soldering.
Most photographers convert a camera they already own, such as a second body or an older one after an upgrade.
Related
- Most Popular Cameras for Infrared Photography 2025
- Infrared Travel Camera Kit
- Full Spectrum Plus Filter Compared to Converted to Filter
- Infrared Filter Guide
- How to Fix Infrared Lens Hot Spots
- Focus Peaking for Infrared Photography
- Kolari Pocket Review
- Introduction to Infrared Photography
- Free eBook: Getting Started with Your Infrared Camera
- Infrared Photography Courses
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