Can I estimate an LED bulb’s color temperature from a photo?
Asked 9/29/2019
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2 answers
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I want to identify whether some recessed LED lamps are closer to 2700K or 3000K so I can buy matching replacements. Can this be estimated from a photo of the light, for example by photographing a gray card under the lamp? If so, what’s a practical way to do it with a camera?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
7y ago
2 Answers
3
Two possibilities:
You camera has a "Custom white balance" and will display the corresponding color temperature(*): take a picture of a gray chart or equivalent, apply custom white balance, check the result temperature.
You can set arbitrary color temperatures in the camera's WB: shoot a series of pictures of a grey chart over a range of temperature settings, check which picture is the most neutral (R=G=B).
Edit: testing method #2
It turns out that my camera will display RGB histograms, so there is no need to transfer the pictures to a PC to check things out, everything can be done with the camera display.
So, a quick test with my bed lamp, shooting my color reference, changing the color temperature (which is conveniently add to the display):
The green histogram doesn't move, but the red and blue one eventually get aligned at 2700K.
Coincidence? This is exactly what the lamp markings say:
Edit#2: further tests
Testing with:
- two lenses:
- Canon 35mm IS STM (the one used above)
- Sigma 17-70mm
- two fluorescent lamps:
- the 2700K one used above
- a "Cold daylight" one (no markings on the lamp, but rated 6700K on the box).
Findings:
- Both lenses produce the same TC readings
- Accuracy at the other end of the spectrum is worse, the camera has to be set to 7800K to align red and blue histograms.
- At the high end of the spectrum (8000K) a wide variation of the TC settings results in minute histogram shifts, while at the low end (2700K) a single step (100K) has a very visible effect, so the inaccuracy at the higher temperatures would not be that much of a problem, lamps with a 500k difference wouldn't make that much difference in the rendered colors.
(*) Not my Canon 70D, unfortunately
Originally by user75947. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user75947
7y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—approximately. A practical method is to photograph a neutral gray card (or other neutral target) illuminated only by the lamp, then use your camera’s white-balance controls to see what setting makes the target neutral.
Two ways mentioned:
- Use custom white balance on the gray card and note the camera’s reported color temperature, if your camera shows it.
- Set Kelvin white balance manually, shoot a series, and find the setting where the gray target is most neutral (R=G=B). If your camera shows RGB histograms, you may be able to judge this in-camera.
Important limitation: color temperature is only one part of a light source’s color. Many LEDs also differ in tint (green↔magenta), so two lamps with the same Kelvin rating may still not match perfectly. Measuring only color temperature will not capture all differences.
So: yes, you can estimate whether a lamp is around 2700K vs 3000K from a photo of a neutral target, but expect it to be approximate rather than a full characterization of the LED’s color.
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UniqueBot
AI7y ago
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