True Retro Vibes
Great potential but not well delivered yet
As this is a paid service and the issue remains unresolved despite past feedback, I expected better. I’ll happily update my review once the app becomes reliable.
Additionally, I attempted to delete my account, but the submit button doesn’t work, leaving me unable to use the app properly or delete my account.
For these reasons, I’m giving 1 star. I wish the company success, but for now, it’s a definite no.
Response from developer
We appreciate the kind words and feedback, and we're sorry that Pearla was not the right fit for you. Although it may seem obscure, we do need to maintain a cloud infrastructure to run Pearla, and that's just one of several reasons it would be economically impossible to maintain Pearla with a one-time purchase model. We did our best to keep our subscription prices as accessible as possible without compromising the quality of our product and customer support, as well as our product roadmap and compliance. Regarding the lag mentioned in manual exposure mode, we have investigated all reports we received on this issue, and in 100% of the cases, it was due to setting the shutter speed too low. The UI isn't freezing. Low shutter speeds allow users to let more light into the sensor and reduce noise in very low-light environments. However, you must keep the camera still (on a tripod) to avoid ghosting, as the refresh rate would get increasingly slower the lower the speed gets under 30. In other words, it's a feature, not a bug. We want to assure you that we are constantly working on improving Pearla. We are enhancing our UI/UX and creating video tutorials to make the onboarding process smoother for all users, especially those who are new to photography. We hope these changes will encourage you to reconsider Pearla. Again, thank you for the thoughtful review and kind words!
Best Camera App
I appreciate the apps simplicity and overall feature set — it wants for nothing — but my favorite thing about the camera is how it helps me slow down.
The closest equivalent camera I own is an 85 year old Voitlander Bessa I. Shooting with it requires patience and intention, things most digital cameras and smartphones don’t foster.
As a professional photographer for 25 years, it’s been a long time since I found a tool that made me better at my craft. Pearla is such a tool.
No free version
Response from developer
Dear Guillermo, As you correctly stated, we offer Pearla for free for a 3-day trial. After that, a subscription is required. We're sorry that wasn't clear to you when you downloaded Pearla. Your review suggests that we somehow mislead our prospective users and somewhat sinisterly harvest permissions. We want to address both issues: We believe prospective users should "try before they buy". Any app that offers a free trial period is classified in the App Store as a free app. It is simply how the app store works. On the App Store product page, right next to the download button, there's a label stating 'In-App Purchases'. Tapping the In-App Purchasing section reveals available purchases and restrictions. In addition to the above, our app's description states that a subscription is required to use Pearla. Lastly, despite flagging it in three placements on our app-store product page, prospective subscribers who land on our website before our app-store page will see a '3-day trial' label right below the download button. Regarding permissions, we only require permissions that Pearla cannot function without (for example, access to the camera on your iPhone). We have a duty of care to our users and don't misuse any permissions they grant us (whether they purchase a subscription or not). Not ever! We advise first-time users to take advantage of our free trial offer and assess Pearla's pricing and value proposition before criticizing the subscription model as a principle. We did our best to make our pricing accessible. Considering the above, we hope you'll reconsider your one-star review.
Predatory and mediocre.
Response from developer
Dear David, Thank you for taking the time to try Pearla. We're sorry you feel so strongly about our product. That said, we must address the points you raised in your review. Firstly, offering free trials only on annual subscriptions is standard practice on the app store. We don't "bank on anyone forgetting to cancel". All users get an email before their trial period expires to remind them that it is about to end. You, too, have received that email. Although subjective, we strongly disagree with your assessment regarding our film simulations. As a policy, we don't comment on other apps, but our technical approach to achieving a filmic look is unlike any currently available app, as we don't apply filters. Instead, we use the data directly from the iPhone's camera sensor. This approach allows us to reproduce looks inspired by popular film stocks while maintaining detail and increased dynamic range. Furthermore, our users can use our film simulations as a base for "filmic recipes". The recipe functionality allows users to achieve unlimited professional colour grades to simulate -any- film look. Lastly, we have worked hard to develop professional colour grading tools never seen on an iPhone, such as Log photography with colour space matching to Log curves like Sony S-Log3 and Nikon N-Log. We launched earlier this year and have (so far) released 15 updates totalling nearly 50 new features (often ones requested by users). We believe we made our pricing structure fair and accessible. We're sorry you don't feel that way, and we wish you all the best.
Subscription required
Everything is a subscription anymore.
Response from developer
It seems you have rated us one star without ever using our product. Subscriptions vs one-time payment is a complicated debate in the cloud computing age, with high customer support expectations and rapid technological advancements. Since launching Pearla 8 months ago, we have released 15 updates. Most contain new features, and recently, a significant update with over 30 feature requests and a UX overhaul. Furthermore, We always respond to customer support emails within hours, and when users reported bugs, we deployed fixes in less than 48 hours. We advise everyone to take advantage of our free introductory offer to assess its value. We did our best to make our subscription prices accessible.
Very promising
Response from developer
Hi, Thank you for the kind words. It's great to have you on board! :) We have yet to receive any crash reports. We would appreciate it if you could contact us at support@houseofmars.io with more information. Regarding the film simulation overlay, it isn't interactive. When you slide the main control dial in that mode, the overlay animates to preview the selected film simulation.
Exceptional
Love the new update for this app. Takes into account all the new features of latest phones and better UI. Well done! Grateful to see work being done on this app still.
It takes a minute to settle into the full features of this app. But when you see how deep you can actually adjust and work with the settings it's absolutely fantastic. Best film/camera app I've used and I've tried the majority of them. Image quality is untouchable. Great work, happy to pay a subscription for quality apps and tools like this!
Response from developer
Thank you for your kind words! :)
That’s one thing this app get it right!
Response from developer
Thank you for your kind words, and apologies for the late response. We wanted to wait to respond until we released our updated UI/UX. We have listened to our users and changed our approach to the original dials. We hope you find the new user experience more intuitive and convenient. If you have any feedback, please don't hesitate to contact us at support@houseofmars.io.
Great so far! Awaiting updates
I used to have an X100V and have shot on a variety of film cameras so I’m familiar with what quality I’m looking for in that realm of photography. Sold my Fuji to fund some emergencies and have been looking around for alternatives until I’m ready to buy another camera. Although, this app makes me reconsider if I even need to buy a camera so soon. The subscription model is really not that bad if you think about the alternative of buying film rolls or an entirely new camera.
Btw, I’m using an iPhone Pro Max with Moment lenses.
Now for some of my gripes (and suggestions):
- I’m not a fan of the shutter placement when shooting vertically but it works horizontal. A simple UI rotation would resolve this.
- I don’t think the custom buttons were able to change on my end?
- I’d also like to see functionality for all of the iPhone 15 pro max native lenses (it’s missing the 2x)—jumps from 1x-5x
- would love to see the film sim live as shooting instead of after development
- would like to flip through the preset film sims easier—a couple steps too many to make those changes on the fly
Overall looks solid so far!
Response from developer
Thank you for your kind words, and apologies for the late response. We wanted to wait to respond until we released our updated UI/UX. We have listened to our users and changed our approach to the original dials. The preview always rendered the film simulations, so we assume you refer to the recipes in your comment regarding previews. We can confirm this feature, and your lenses and UI-related feature requests are available in v2! We hope you find the new user experience more intuitive and convenient. If you have any feedback, please don't hesitate to contact us at support@houseofmars.io.
