What this converter does
This converter turns mired into a colour temperature in kelvin and back. Kelvin equals a million divided by the mired value, so 154 mired is cool 6500 K daylight and 370 mired is warm 2700 K light. Type a value and read the result instantly.
Because the relationship is reciprocal, a fixed mired shift on a filter changes cool light less in kelvin than warm light.
The units it covers
Two ways to express the same colour of light — a temperature (K) and its reciprocal micro-scale (mired).
View all units & their values
| Unit | Symbol | Value | Mainly used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kelvin | K | CCT | Correlated colour temperature of a light source |
| Mired | MK⁻¹ | 10⁶⁄K | Micro reciprocal degree — used for filters and shifts |
The formula
Mired is a million divided by the temperature in kelvin — a reciprocal, not a factor:
mired = 1,000,000 ÷ K (and K = 1,000,000 ÷ mired)Where:
- K = correlated colour temperature, in kelvin
- mired = micro reciprocal degrees (MK⁻¹)
Worked example
Convert 200 mired to kelvin.
K = 1,000,000 ÷ mired1,000,000 ÷ 200 = 5000 KSo 200 mired is 5000 K — a neutral daylight white.
The units in this example
Micro reciprocal degrees — a million over the kelvin value. Lighting gels and filters are rated in mired shifts.
- 154 mired = 6500 K
- 200 mired = 5000 K
- 370 mired = 2700 K
- mired = 10⁶ ÷ K
Correlated colour temperature — lower looks warmer, higher looks cooler. The everyday way to describe a white light’s colour.
- 2700 K = 370 mired
- 5000 K = 200 mired
- 6500 K = 154 mired
- K = 10⁶ ÷ mired