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Color Temperature Mired Calculator

Reviewed by the CalculatorHub team, edited by James Graham. Standard mired formula. Last verified 15 June 2026.

Mireds (micro-reciprocal degrees) provide a perceptually uniform scale for color temperature that is more useful than Kelvin when calculating color correction filter shifts. The formula is simple: mired = 1,000,000 / K. To find the mired shift needed between two light sources, subtract the target mired from the source mired. This calculator converts between Kelvin and mireds and calculates the mired shift between any two color temperatures.

Color temperature of your light source: tungsten 3,200 K, daylight 5,500 K, flash 5,600 K.
Target color temperature (e.g. your camera white balance setting).
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Mired formula

Mired = 1,000,000 / K
Kelvin = 1,000,000 / mired
Mired shift = target mired - source mired

Example: source 3,200 K (tungsten) to target 5,500 K (daylight). Source mired = 1,000,000 / 3,200 = 312.5. Target mired = 1,000,000 / 5,500 = 181.8. Mired shift = 181.8 - 312.5 = -130.7 mired. A -130 mired cooling filter corrects tungsten to daylight.

Color temperature reference table

  • Candle flame: 1,800 K (556 mired)
  • Incandescent / tungsten: 2,700-3,200 K (313-370 mired)
  • Halogen lamp: 3,000-3,400 K (294-333 mired)
  • Fluorescent (cool white): 4,000-4,200 K (238-250 mired)
  • Electronic flash / strobe: 5,400-5,600 K (179-185 mired)
  • Daylight (noon sun, clear sky): 5,500 K (182 mired)
  • Overcast sky: 6,500-7,000 K (143-154 mired)
  • Open shade (blue sky): 8,000-10,000 K (100-125 mired)

Color temperature mired: frequently asked questions

What are mireds and why are they used in photography?

Mired (micro-reciprocal degree, or MRD) is a unit of color temperature reciprocal: mired = 1,000,000 / K. Mireds are useful because equal mired shifts produce equal perceptual color changes regardless of the starting temperature, which is not true of equal Kelvin shifts.

How do I convert Kelvin to mireds?

Mired = 1,000,000 / Kelvin. For example, 5,500 K (daylight): mired = 1,000,000 / 5,500 = 181.8. For 3,200 K (tungsten): mired = 1,000,000 / 3,200 = 312.5. Going from tungsten to daylight is a shift of 181.8 - 312.5 = -130.7 mired.

What is a mired shift value on a color filter?

Color correction filters are rated by their mired shift value. A positive mired shift (warming filter, CC or 85-series) raises mireds and lowers Kelvin. A negative mired shift (cooling filter, 80-series) lowers mireds and raises Kelvin. Add the filter mired shift to the light source mired to get the corrected mired.

What mired shift converts 3,200 K tungsten to 5,500 K daylight?

Tungsten: 1,000,000 / 3,200 = 312.5 mired. Daylight: 1,000,000 / 5,500 = 181.8 mired. Required filter shift: 181.8 - 312.5 = -130.7 mired (a cooling filter). This matches the approximately -130 mired shift of an 80A gel.

What color temperatures correspond to common light sources?

Candle: about 1,800 K. Tungsten / incandescent: 2,700-3,200 K. Halogen: 3,000-3,400 K. Fluorescent (cool white): 4,000-4,200 K. Daylight (noon sun, clear sky): 5,500 K. Overcast sky: 6,500-7,500 K. Blue sky (open shade): 8,000-10,000 K.

Official sources

  • CIE 015:2018: Colorimetry (defines color temperature and correlated color temperature). CIE.co.at.
  • ISO 7589:2002: Photography, Illuminants for sensitometry, Specifications for daylight, incandescent tungsten and printer. ISO.org.

Reviewed by the CalculatorHub team, edited by James Graham, 15 June 2026. See our methodology.