So, I recently saw this question and thought it looked simple enough. Instead of a webcam though i used an actual (but old, 3MP) digital camera. The camera was a bit broken anyway(always exposed with weird colors and too dark usually). Well, I've confirmed the IR works now by holding my TV remote up to it. I don't actually have any IR LEDs on hand though.
The two prevalent kinds I see seem to be 950nm and 850nm. For the purposes of making a night vision camera, which one would be more bright? I would think 950nm because it's closer to the visible spectrum, but everyone else seems to say 850nm is brighter. So which one works better? Or should I just buy one of each and see for myself which one is brighter?(as in, it depends on the camera)
Best Answer
EDIT:After seeing mikeselectricstuff's comment, I agree: buy both. Then upvote his comment.Pick the 850nm one. As shown in the following image (from here), it is attenuated less than 950nm.
The green and blue portion of your camera's Bayer filter will attenuate the IR light considerably, making their channels noisy, so you may want to look into getting raw image data output such that it can be processed on your PC, rejecting those channels. The filter cannot be removed.
Be careful with your IR "flash bulb", or whatever it ends up being. Although we can't see it, it still hurts and damages eyes. Many animals/insects are more sensitive to and can even see IR.