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LEDVANCE 1/31/2023 Lighting Essentials

5000K vs 6500K Light Bulb


​If you do a search for "daylight" LED lights, you may often come across two different color temperature options: 5000K and 6500K. Two options of color temperature are strongly suggested on the Internet, so how should we choose? If you want to know the difference between the two, read on. I believe that after reading this article, you will choose the most suitable color temperature according to your usage scenario​


The Main Difference between 5000K and 6500K Light Bulb


First, visually speaking, 5000K is more yellow than 6500K, and 6500K is bluer than 5000K.​​

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5000k color temperature5000k color temperature
6500k color temperature6500k color temperature

​6500K is a recognized color point and is considered to be the color representative that best matches natural sunlight, even though the light color of natural sunlight varies greatly due to time, weather and geography. It is therefore natural to assume that natural daylight is a true white point, enabling us to discern the color of things themselves. However, 5000K is a white light that looks warmer and more yellow than 6500K.

Now that we've covered the basic concepts, which one is best for you?​

​What Color is 6500K?


The 6500K bulb is the artificial light closest to natural daylight, choosing it will bring you light blue lighting like natural daylight. If you want to simulate the effect of natural daylight, please choose 6500K bulbs, which have a cooler color than 5000K lights, which can calm the environment and help you get good concentration in the working environment without fatigue. In addition to offices and classrooms that require full attention, the 6500K lights can also be used for security lighting.



daylight 6500k 


Is 5000K Better than 6500k?


While 5000K is very close to 6500K, it has less blue light while maintaining a neutral natural light, which can provide a softer and more relaxing light than 6500K. It offers a compromise between the loss of color sensitivity at lower color temperatures and the bluish cast that exists at 6500K and natural daylight, making it a more versatile light. Therefore, 5000K lamps are often found in the retail industry. The lights of the two color temperatures have their own strengths, you can choose according to your needs.​



smart lamp 5000k  

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​Bonus Tips：CRI Matters when Choosing a Suitable Light Bulb


When choosing lamps, we not only need to consider color temperature, but CRI is also a very important index for lighting. Lights with a good CRI index can make object colors appear more vivid and lifelike, while low CRI means colors may appear dull, muted, or distorted.​



high cri lamphigh cri lamp
low cri lamplow cri lamp

​The color temperature between 5000K and 6500K is actually a reasonable color point for accurately judging the color, but if the CRI of the camera itself is not enough, it will have the opposite effect. Natural sunlight is recognized as a light source with 100 CRI. In the case of insufficient natural sunlight, it is extremely important to choose a bulb with a high CRI.​​

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