Thanks for the answer, so is there a way to embed the dng profile i made into the file itself ? When i load the raw's from my camera into Lightroom i get Adobe Standard and Embedded in the list (this is a pentax 645D). I'm assuming the embedded profile is something the camera writes into the file, can that be replaced with my custom one so I can then throw it out from the profile list and the custom profile I made turns into the Embedded one ?
Adobe says this about the profiles:
"What's the difference between an embedded profile and an external profile?
An embedded profile is a camera profile that has been embedded in a DNG file (i.e., the profile data is stored in the DNG along with the image data). An external profile is a camera profile whose data is stored in a separate file on disk; this file has a .dcp extension. Otherwise there is no difference between embedded and external profiles."
So i guess to clarify, how can I turn the external profiles into embedded ones so I don't have to deal with a bunch of those external files a few months from now ?
I'm going to tread carefully here and I'm sure I'll be corrected. "Profiles" are a function of the raw processor. C1pro will have a different profile from ACR or LR through ACR and LR probably share the same because of their close relationship with Adobe. As a file recognized by that raw processor it seen by the raw processing software, it assigns a profile from it's database of profiles supplied by either the raw processor or any profile you add and assign.
Even years ago we were using non-OEM (for lack of a better term) profiles suppled from guys who knew how to make them and who had an eye for color. Magne Nilsen for instance used to make some awesome profiles for the Canon 1ds Mark II which were compatible with C1pro and I still use them today. Actually I've recently dug out my Canon 1ds Mark II and am rekindling my love affair with that body.. I'm absolutely convinced that from ISO 100-800 it makes better files than my Canon 5d Mark II. Anyway.. this profile is flagged in C1pro so any time I process a 1ds Mark II image that profile is applied.
Keep in mind the standard profiles provided by Adobe and C1pro and other raw processors are "general" profiles meant to 'work' in most circumstances so they're not tuned to just one type of light. The Magne Nilsen profiles were a bit more specialized in that they're geared for higher or lower saturation.
The x-rite color checker profiles are specific profiles built to balance the colors using the specific light of that shoot. You would not want to apply these to every image you import.. or embed them to take the place of the standard profiles provided by Adobe or C1pro.. You might create a set of profiles taken in specific light conditions, shade, sun, indoors with incandescent, etc, etc.. and use them as starting points.. but what x-rite was really designed for was to be used in place of a grey card to make a more accurate profile you can easily apply to a batch of images from a specific shoot.
These profiles are different from the Camera/Calibration area in ACR and LR. This is where you'd enter corrections to compensate for the variance in sensors used in the same model camera. For instance, your 645 'might' make slightly different color than a 645 that came off the line 200 units ago. But both are supported by the same ACR/LR profile. Camera/Calibration is where you'd compensate for the difference between sensors.
What you want to remember, is that all of the above examples are 'external' profiles. The internal profile is a camera manufacturer starting point used by your cameras in-camera jpeg converter and LCD display, and as a reference starting point for the raw processor software to build their external profile from.
So.. you wouldn't want to change it. It is what it is. If you feel your color isn't right what you would want to do is determine is if it isn't right all the time or just under different lighting conditions. If you feel, for example, that the blue channel is too saturated in general.. then you'd adjust that in the Camera/Calibration settings area. If you feel the color is off for a for a specific lighting condition.. then this is where you'd use X-rite color checker.
And finally.. if you think you'd like to be able to embed profiles that will see all and do all under any lighting conditions.. well, that would be the holy grail of color and if you could figure that one out you could set your own price.
I hope this helps.