Convert color temperature in Kelvin to RGB/HEX. Useful for photography white balance and lighting design.
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Common references:
- 1800K — Candle flame (very warm orange)
- 2700K — Incandescent bulb (warm yellow)
- 3500K — Halogen lamp
- 4100K — Cool white fluorescent
- 5500K — Daylight noon (camera default white balance)
- 6500K — Cloudy daylight (D65 standard)
- 9300K — Cool blue sky
Use cases
- Photography white balance adjustment
- Lighting design and interior
- Video color correction
- UI/UX warm/cool theme picking
FAQ
Why is high Kelvin blue and low Kelvin orange?
Counter-intuitively, "warm" colors (orange/red) correspond to lower temperatures because they match cooler blackbody radiation. Astronomical convention.
What's daylight?
Noon sunlight is ~5500K. Photography uses D65 (6500K) as a calibration standard.
Algorithm?
Tanner Helland's approximation (commonly used) — polynomial fit of blackbody radiation in sRGB.
Free?
Yes.