How to check if your photo camera can take infrared photos

Infrared photography has many applications, such as cosmic photos, recovering texts of water damaged documents, quality checks for hidden material flaws, surveillance and public safety, or aesthetic purposes.
You would imagine that you need special equipment to take infrared photos. Well, for the “far” infrared spectrum (thermal light), indeed, you need it. But for the “near” infrared, all you need is a digital camera that doesn’t have a filter that blocks infrared light, and an infrared filter.
How to test your camera for IR capability: check if it can see beams emitted from a common infrared remote control (point it towards your camera and press any button). The beams should appear white in the LCD screen.
If your camera does not have an LCD screen, take a picture of the remote control while pressing one of its buttons. In this photo you should see the beam, as illustrated:
Otherwise, it means that your camera has the IR blocking filter. Probably it can be removed, but I would not suggest you do that, because it may void your warranty, or you may never manage to put the camera together and functioning again.
If your camera passed the test, and you are looking forward to see your future IR pictures, take a look at these examples of infrared photography.