Color temperature and mired shift
Find the correction to make one light look like another. Enter the source color temperature and the one you want; the calculator gives the mired shift and whether you need a blue (CTB-type) or orange (CTO-type) gel.
Mired values make gel choices simple: a gel shifts every source by roughly the same number of mireds, whereas its effect in Kelvin depends on where you start.
How to use it
- Light source: its color temperature in Kelvin.
- Make it look like: the color temperature you want.
- Pick the gel whose published mired shift is closest to the result.
Example
To make a 3200 K tungsten source look like 5600 K daylight, the shift is about −134 mired: use a CTB-type gel close to full CTB.
Good to know
Mired = 1,000,000 ÷ Kelvin. Gel strengths vary between manufacturers, so check the published values for the brand you use.