Infrared Photography

hello , this consider to be my first post in this forum i've been a member a while ago and i really like it here ... i've start learning photography by my own 4 years ago and been using a non-professional camera since then recently i've bought a Canon 50D with 17-85 mm and i've been quite amazed with the results ... though i would really like to know what's the best lence and fillter to get started with Infrared Photography since im using 50D ?

Hoya R72 IR

Noora,
Theoretically all lenses will work for IR photos however because our cameras need very long exposures many lenses reflect light back and can ruin the photo. The IR filter I use is the Hoya R72 which filters out most light and lets in the IR light spectrum.

Here is a quick web page I made awhile ago with What is Infrared and How to Take IR photos <--click to see

Here is a list of lenses that are known to work well for IR photos <-- click to see

Most digital camera sensors have a built-in IR filter which tries to elliminate the IR. This is because the sensors generally are sensitive to IR. So by using an IR filter you are trying to eliminate the visible light. The very small amount of IR that reaches the sensor requires a very long exposure.

If you have a camera that you want to use solely for IR, you can find articles on the web on how to carefully remove the IR filter from the front of the sensor and make it much easier to take IR photographs, defintely something you won't want to do with your new 50D