Are you trying to produce a matrix free DNG in the hope it won't interfere with the profile/recipe in ACR 4.5?
Yes! That was my intention. I don't know if it's a stupid thing, if it is possible or not, I thought that if we have had the chance to skip the "imperfect" calibration in dng4ps, we could have obtain better results.
then used exiftool to reset the make/model info to the correct values
I'm afraid i didn't understand (i've never used exiftool). What I've seen is that, obviously, different matrixes give different outputs in camera raw. How could a matrix free DNG give the same output of a non-matrix free (which of them?), since different non-matrix free DNGs give different output?
Another thing is that if the matrix is not 100% perfect, it can give different level of fidelity for different pictures. Maybe a picture is 95% good with that matrix, maybe another picture is 70%. A little error in RED calibration for eg. doesn't affect too much red color, but could have important consequences in other colors. Now consider what it would be if not only the red color were little wrong, but green and blue too.
Despite the fact we don't know if a matrix is good or not, by using DNG Profiles you will get an "almost" perfect camera profile, BUT, if the matrix is not 100% perfect, you will have a profile that is 100% good only for the picture you have used for the DNG profiling.
In other words you have an incorrect matrix (maybe good for the calibration picture used in DNG4ps calibration), and you have an incorrect profile (perfect but only for the picture used for DNG profiling).
What lighting was used for the calibration photos?
I don't remember, but I think he used "daylight" in the camera, or picking up the white balance directly from the chart (the second square in last row). Anyway, these are small errors that weigh far less than the errors of the approximated matrix where we started from.
However, using my matrix and the DNG profile in ACR (created in DNG Profiler), I get better results than without camera profile (specially the red channel).
So what exactly don't you like about your current profile? The color checker doesn't look quite right when profiled, or that not all shots adjusted with the profile turn out with the color you were expecting?
Now I like it very much, but that doesn't mean it is perfect
The color checker (screen pic) after DNG4PS calibration was perfect (for my eyes). Some pictures too, a few others not.
The gretag chart (real pic) after DNG profiling was super perfect (for my eyes). Many pictures too, a very few others not.
In conclusion, I think that the camera profile is not 100% good, just because it is based on a not 100% good matrix, and this lead us to have an impredictable color fidelity.
Anyway, i'm using an Eos 450d these days so I shoudn't have color problems anymore; I gave my S5 to my father just to have some fun (no color problems for him, he doesn't even know what raw is).
