We report a comparative study of the performance of infrared (IR) photoconductive and bolometric detectors fabricated from few layer graphene (FLG) to graphitic films obtained by different methods. FLG films grown directly on insulating substrates with the aid of residual hydrocarbons and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) carbon sources show an IR photoresponse of 73% which is far higher compared to the FLG films (6-14%) obtained by CVD and Scotch tape methods. The photoconductive nature of FLG films is due to generation of photoexcited charge carriers. On the other hand, the photoresponse of the bulk graphitic films is bolometric in nature where the resistance changes are due to thermal effects. The IR photoresponse from these graphitic films is correlated with the Raman peak intensities which are very sensitive to the nature of the FLG. © 2013 The Royal Society of Chemistry.