i have an xl1 and i also have a gretag mcbeth color checker. i've read that the color bar inside the xl1 and xl1s isn't quite good. if i use my color checker will that be better?

The color bars inside the XL1 are indeed incorrect color bars. The
XL1S (newer model) has correct SMPTE standard compliance
color bars (or EBU bars for the PAL model).

thanks again Mr. Lohman. since i have the xl1 will the gretagmcbeth color checker work for me?

If you include a color standard in the scene, then an analyzer may do you some good. But then video is not going to accurately reproduce all the colors in a scene anyway. You can probably zero in on a few colors but not all of them.

Color bars won't necessarily allow you to correct a scene as they originate in your camera, not the scene.