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Colour Temperature Calculator

Get perfect lighting every time with the LEE Filters Colour Temperature Calculator.  If your light source is too warm, cold or just doesn’t give the desired effect it can be easily converted with our technical lighting filters. This tool will tell you exactly the technical filter (or combination of filters) you’ll need to achieve the right lighting. Taking the guesswork out of getting the perfect shot, no more trial and error, saving time in production and post production.

How To Use the LEE Filters Calculator

Just five steps stand between you and your perfect lighting:

  1. Original Source: Select the colour temperature of your light source
  2. Converted Source: Select the desired colour temperature you’d like the light to be
  3. The required filter (or filter combination) will be shown below the calculator
  4. You can also filter results by the light source/desired effect, to see what filters work best with either daylight, tungsten or LED lights
  5. Download a PDF of your filter recommendations and specifications – simply select the filters you would like for later

The colour temperature calculator requires Javascript to be enabled to function.

Use the sliders to calculate a value.

2000
2000K
10000K
Enter a value between 2000 & 10000 in increments of 50
2000
2000K
10000K
Enter a value between 2000 & 10000 in increments of 50

How to Identify the Colour Temperature of Your Light Source

If you don’t know the temperature of your light source, below is a quick overview of how to find its temperature.

What is the kelvin (K) scale?

All light sources have a colour temperature measured in kelvins. The kelvin scale is a unit of measurement for temperature and relates to the physical temperature of black body radiators. As black body radiators, such as the sun, a candle, or an incandescent light source heat up, they emit light. A kelvin value can be calculated from the physical temperature of black body radiators, and it is possible to observe that lower temperature black body radiators emit an orange colour light, and hotter sources emit bluer light.  With a lower the kelvin value, the light source will be warmer or more orange, for example a candle typically has a colour temperature of 1850K. The perceived colour temperature of the Sun changes throughout the day depending on its position in the sky, with the colour temperature being around 2000K at sunrise and sunset and around 5500K at noon on a clear summer day. Outside of the Earth’s atmosphere, the sun has a constant perceived colour temperature of around 5900K. A colour temperature below 4000K generally will appear redder or orange, while a colour temperature above 7500K will start to appear more blue.

Your light source

Tungsten lighting

Tungsten light colour temperature is always around 3200K, a warm light source like an incandescent bulb.

HMI light

HMI light is another form of light source which produces a cooler colour temperature of around 6000K.

LED light sources

The colour temperature of white LED lights are usually created using either RGB values or by putting a phosphor in front of the LED chips to convert and control the colour temperature of the light. For fixed LEDs, the colour temperature is normally written on the side of the light or in the specification for the light. Adjustable white, bi-colour LED lights will usually allow you to select a specific colour temperature either using a built-in display or via a connected app.

Residential or commercial fixed lighting

For bulbs and light fixtures that may be used in residential or commercial settings, the colour temperature is usually stated either on the bulb or fixture itself or on packaging.

For professional use or a regular need to find out the colour temperature of light sources a handheld spectrometer can be used to measure the colour temperature, the exact distribution of light across the spectrum as well as the quality of the light and its accuracy in rendering colours.

Buy LEE technical filters directly from LEE Direct in the UK, LEE Direct USA, and LEE Direct Canada. Or use our Dealer Locator to find your nearest dealer.

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