What are Camera Matching profiles?
These profiles match the color appearance produced by the camera vendors' software, under specific settings (described below). They are intended for photographers who appreciate the workflow and toolset provided by CR / LR but prefer the color rendering provided by the camera vendors' own software.
All CM profiles are identified with the prefix Camera in CR / LR's Profile popup menu.
Please note that the CM profiles are NOT expected to match the embedded in-camera JPEG, especially if you have established custom in-camera settings. To understand the abilities and scope of the CM profiles, please read the following description carefully.
As of July 29, 2008, we have created CM profiles for Canon and Nikon DSLRs only. Photographers who want CM profiles for other cameras are encouraged to use the DNG Profile Editor.
In general, there are 5 CM profiles per Canon DSLR, one for each of the default Canon Picture Styles. These five Picture Styles are called Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Neutral, and Faithful. The CM profiles will match the Canon Picture Styles with all Canon sliders (i.e., Contrast, Color Balance, and Saturation) set to their default values of 0.
Similarly, in general there are 8 CM profiles per Nikon DSLR, one for each of the Nikon Picture Controls. These Picture Controls are called Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Landscape, Portrait, D2X Mode 1, D2X Mode 2, D2X Mode 3. The CM profiles will match the Nikon Picture Controls with all Nikon sliders (i.e., Saturation, Tone Compensation, etc.) set to their default values of 0. Note that the D2X name is applicable to all Nikon DSLRs, even non-D2X models. This is not a bug.
Are the new profiles camera-specific?
Yes. Every profile that we build is camera-specific. Even the older profiles (e.g., ACR 3.3, ACR 4.4) are camera-specific. In fact, the profile menu in CR/LR will only show profiles for your camera. Note that the profiles you see in the profile menu do not include the camera's model name (e.g., Canon EOS 40D). This is intentional (for several reasons).
I only see generic profiles in the Profile popup menu, but not profiles specific to my camera. What's wrong?
Actually, all the profiles listed in the Profile popup menu are specific to your camera. See related question.