Since I will be using off the shelf parts for the IR emitter (LED), I need to somehow focus the wide 100deg or 120deg light given off by the emitter.
The light wavelength I’m looking for is in the low 700 nm range as measured from two Canon flash units.

I’ve found an IR emitter that puts out more then enough light at 730nm (1080-1293-1-ND from Digikey).
To focus the light in a tight beam, I just ordered some parts from Newark.

The lenses are

– LEDIL  FP11055_LISA2-RS-PIN  LENS,ROUND,1 POS,9.9MM OD

– LEDIL  FA10888_TINA-RS  LENS,ROUND,1 POS,16.1MM OD

– LEDIL  FA10886_TINA-0-PLUS-RS  LENS, REAL SPOT, GOLDEN/PLATINUM/DRAGON+

I’m hoping one of these small lens with enclosures will do the trick.
Will post more once I get them and try them out.

The light out of the bare LED is way to wide, and these lenses should focus the light to a tight 10-16deg beam.