Camera calibration profiles gone with new camera

[howdego]

I previously used a Sony NEX 6 for my photography.  During that time, I established some custom Camera Calibration profiles in Lightroom CC using the Color Checker Passport using the two Sony kit lenses and specific light conditions, which I have used successfully in the past.  I have been keeping my Adobe Photography bundle up to date and both LR and PS have ACR version 9.10. 

I have been taking some practice shots with my new Sony ILCE 6300, using the same lenses that came with the NEX 6000 (which I sold). But when I viewed the shots in Develop mode, I was shocked to see that even though Lightroom identifies both lens profiles, it does not show the custom camera calibration profiles I originally made with the NEX 6.  I only get the list of standard adobe and camera calibrations.

I also noted that the camera profile for the ILCE 6300 does not appear in the Adobe camera profiles folder on my computer.  However, I found the custom profiles in C:\Users\yourusername\AppData \Roaming\Adobe\CameraRaw\CameraProfiles, though they are not being used for the 6300.  All have .DCP suffixes.

So I think I have more of a need to verify that what I think I figured out is correct, than I have questions. 

-So, am I correct in thinking that I must make another set of profiles with the various 6300 and lens combinations and the color checker, as the custom corrections are specific to lens/camera combinations?

-Is there any reason to keep the .DCP profiles for camera’s I no longer own?

[Just Shoot Me]

The profiles you created are specifically for the type of file that was used to create them. If you used a RAW file to create them then only with RAW files from that model camera will they be available. If you are trying to use them on a JPG file or a RAW file from some other camera model they won't appear.

[elie_dinur]

"-So, am I correct in thinking that I must make another set of profiles with the various 6300 and lens combinations and the color checker, as the custom corrections are specific to lens/camera combinations?"

They are certainly specific to the camera. Regarding the lenses, since they are both Sony lenses I would expect Sony to maintain reasonable uniformity of color transmission (the .dcp profiles characterize color capture by the sensor in a given illumination, not lens optical aberrations) but since you are already making new profiles you might as well do it with both lenses.

[Just Shoot Me]

Yes.

No that doesn't happen. Each new camera usually contains a brand new type of sensor that has different characteristics. Profiles made for one sensor don't work the same with other sensors.

[Todd Shaner · Accepted solution]

howdego  wrote

I established some custom Camera Calibration profiles in Lightroom CC using the Color Checker Passport using the two Sony kit lenses and specific light conditions, which I have used successfully in the past.

In addition to the advice already given. It's generally only necessary to create a single dual-illuminant camera profile using a Daylight (High-Noon Sun) CC image file and tungsten light source CC image file. This should work well for all types of sunlight (sunrise/sunset, cloudy, full-sun), all types of tungsten light, and for mixed lighting. If you shoot with other lighting such as fluorescent, mercury vapor, or other mixed lighting then additional camera profiles should be created for best results.

Keep in mind that the camera profile you have selected in LR is the "base profile" used when creating the custom CC Passport camera profile. You'll get different results with Adobe Standard selected than with any of the 'Camera' named profiles (Camera Standard, Camera Neutral, etc.). The lens used should have no impact on the camera profile other than a very small difference in White Balance settings (+-100 Temp, +-5 Tint). You'll have far wider changes in WB due to time of day and clouds,etc. You can confirm this for yourself by shooting the CC Passport with both lenses during the same session and lighting conditions and then checking the WB using the eyedropper.

[howdego]

Understand now that it is the camera sensor that is the most important component that the Colorchecker is adapting to. So my take is that, at minimum, I should make two profiles for Lightroom using one lens and my new camera.  One in a Sunny environment and one in a Fluorescent (the most common indoor environment for me these days).  For a more precise calibration, I should take  set of sunny, cloudy and fluorescent shots for each lens.  I can always eliminate those that I find make no difference in the future.

Thank you all for clearing this up for me.

[Todd Shaner]

howdego  wrote

For a more precise calibration, I should take  set of sunny, cloudy and fluorescent shots for each lens.

You should see no difference between the sunny versus cloudy CCPP camera profile or lens used. What you may is see a very slight difference in the WB settings required. Once the WB is set the images should look the same. I suggest creating one high-noon, cloudless sunlight camera profile, which will work fine for all conditions (cloudy, sunset, sunrise). All camera profiles require scene referred WB adjustment (i.e. Sunny will be different than Cloudy, etc.). Fluorescent light has a very non-uniform color spectrum (spikes) that varies depending on tube type and age. With fluorescent light source it's best to shoot the CCPP and create a camera profile for each critical shooting session.

All of that said the Adobe Standard camera profile works quite well with most camera models. The CCPP camera profiles provide a different rendering, which may be better for landscapes and architecture and Adobe Standard better for other subjects such as portraits. I also sometimes use the Camera Neutral and Camera Faithful profiles for fine color hue gradation subjects such as macro shots of flowers. Give them all a try–Enjoy!

[KR Seals]

I have used the color checker to create dual illuminant (daylight and tungsten) for my cameras, including drones for years. I have found that in the case of wildly mixed colors of club or concert lighting the adobe standard profile works best. If you set the color checker profiles to be your default, keep in mind you may have to change to another profile if your lighting is wildly different from that of the profiles.

As tshaner said, it's a great idea to try all of the profiles to see which you like, especially if the colors just don't seem right.

[howdego]

Installed some profiles in cloudy, sunny and fluorescent and checked the effect on a photo's white balance.  There was a slight difference in the temp and tint with each combination of lens and lighting condition, and the colors were better with every custom profile when compared with the Lightroom adobe and camera selections.  So I am quite pleased and I am about to set the new camera body as the default in preferences.

One question.  I would like to delete a couple of custom profiles from my computer.  Is this done by simply deleting the DNG files from their folder, or is there a Lightroom command to do this?

[Todd Shaner]

The custom camera profiles are stored in the below folder location:

Windows—C: \ Users \ [your username] \ AppData \ Roaming \ Adobe \ CameraRaw \ CameraProfiles \

Mac—Macintosh HD / Users / [your username] / Library / Application Support / Adobe / CameraRaw / CameraProfiles /

WARNING: When you delete a camera profile all image files using it will revert to the top-most alphanumeric named profile available. That usually means those image files will revert to 'Adobe Standard' profile. So you need to be careful when deleting camera profiles. It's best to find them and change to the desired camera profile before deleting any profiles.

You can delete the DNG files after the camera profile has been created. I usually add a keyword description (CCPP, Cloudy, etc.) to the original CCPP raw file. That way you can re-create that specific profile in the future.

A useful tool for this and other search-filter purposes is the 'Any Filter' plugin created by John Ellis: Any Filter Lightroom Plugin or the 'Data Explorer' plugin by Jeffrey Friedl Jeffrey Friedl's Blog » Jeffrey’s “Data Explorer” Lightroom Plugin. I use both, but since you are removing multiple camera profiles the Data Explorer plugin is the probably the easiest to use.

Here's an example Data Explorer search used with the LR Library Filter set to one specific camera model (5D MKII). If you have more than one camera and are deleting any of its profiles you'll need to run a separate search for each camera model. It's fairly simple and you can "isolate" the specific profiles that will be deleted to separate Smart Collections.