Not sure about the DNG Profile Editor with Lightroom.

[rpavich]

Hi,
I've been using LR for a few months now and have been getting more serious about my photography. That led me to white balance and color correction.

I calibrated my monitor and my next step was to purchase an X rite Color Passport Color Checker.

I began by just snapping a shot of the Color Checker in each lighting condition/location and right clicking it and exporting it as a profile. Then restarting LR and using that profile just as it is.

The just today I saw that people were not doing it that way but using a thing called the DNG Profile Editor from Adobe, and then saving that profile.

I'm not sure if the DNG Editor is necessary given the fact that there is a plugin for LR or that one is better than another or even that I'm using them correctly.

Can someone help me answer these questions?

1.) Is the DNG Profile Editor necessary if the LR plugin is used?

2.) Is the DNG Profile Editor better than or worse than the LR plugin?

3.) Do they accomplish the same thing?

4.) Before creating a profile, should adjustments be made to the shot or is that negating the whole point of a profile?

Thanks,
bob

 

[sizzlingbadger]

1) no
2) it can do more (dual illuminate etc...)
3) pretty much but see 2
4) adjustments are ignored

Don't spend too much time with this. If you need accurate colour for product shots in a catalog for example then this may be required. You can waste a lot of time with this rather than just improving your photography. When you create a profile with colorchecker it will only be accurate under the exact same lighting conditions that the profile was made with. If you have a studio where you shoot products or clothing etc where the colours have to be accurate then this is a great product. If you are a hobbyist then you may find it far less useful.

I spent about 2 years creating profiles and using the DNG editor to tweak profiles, now I hardly ever use it or the colorchecker as I was wasting too much time concentrating on colour instead of the really important things

 

[rpavich]

thanks very much sizzlingbadger, that helped a lot.