The biggest challenge when starting out with IR photography is choosing the right kind of camera and the right kind of IR modification. If at all possible, choose a mirrorless camera body rather than a DSLR. With a mirrorless camera what you see is exactly what the sensor itself registers (rather than regular visible light), which makes a dramatic difference to simplicity and general ease of use, not to mention focusing.

Once you have chosen your camera body you will need to remove the standard ‘hot mirror’ filter that’s secured immediately in front of the camera’s sensor. When I say ‘you will need to remove’ I mean get a specialist to do this. A camera sensor is a delicate and sensitive thing, and it is incredibly easy to screw up this process and end up with something destined for the trash.

I used Protech Repairs to convert my camera to IR. They did a great job with a decent turnaround time. If you’re in the UK take a look at their services: https://www.protechrepairs.co.uk

When you choose a service that will do this (or perhaps somewhere that sells already-converted camera bodies) you will have another decision: add a new filter over the sensor that fixes the camera to capturing a certain wavelength range, or go for a ‘full conversion’ – leaving the sensor fully exposed – and use your own add-on lens filters or drop-in ‘clip’ filters. Full-conversion cameras are more flexible because you can change the IR filter and get diferent image results very easily, but you will need to be a little more careful about keeping your camera’s innards free from dust.

Choosing the right lens is also important. Some lenses work really well with this kind of work, but others have pronounced hotspots that spoil images. If all your lenses produce hotspots you will need to get one that doesn’t; trying to repair the hotspot problem really isn’t worth it.

Rather than repeat what others have said I think it’s best to look at the Kolari Lens Hostpot Database: https://kolarivision.com/lens-hotspot-list/

My setup

I bought a second-hand Nikon Z6 and had it converted to full spectrum, so the sensor receives everything from UV through visible light and into the IR end of the spectrum. I normally use ‘clip filters’ that sit immediately in front of the sensor, inside the camera body and behind the lens. But I do sometimes leave the sensor bare and use a lens-mounted IR filter instead.

My preferred lens is the Nikkor 24-120 f/4. It is an excellent lens that’s beautifully sharp and covers a really useful range from wide angle to medium telephoto, and of course it’s good for IR work with no hotspots. I use the F-mount version of this lens with an FTZ adaptor on my Nikon Z6 so it’s also compatible with my Nikon D850, a DSLR.