Pathetic and useless
Response from developer
Dear Shonesb, All of the above is incorrect. First and foremost, it's important to note that Pearla does not apply "film filters", a unique feature that sets us apart from other apps. Pearla applies its film simulations to the raw data before rendering the image. When shooting in Log mode, the film simulations do not apply. Ever! These are two separate processes. Pearla has many features that may further modify the Log curve, such as Gamma Assist tools, colour space transform tools, and LUTs, to name a few. You may have one of these on. Please contact our customer support so we can troubleshoot your case more effectively. We're unsure what you mean by "impossible to change exposure during shooting". V1.4.1 does not support video shooting. Again, if you're implying that you could not adjust exposure between taking photos, that's incorrect. Lastly, we investigated every bug we ever received on lag and in 100% of the cases it was down to users setting the shutter speed too low. This mode is designed to reduce the amount of noise in low-light conditions but requires a tripod, as the low refresh rate and the extended period the shutter remains open can create a ghosting effect and a sense of lag. We are working on tutorials that will help onboard users more smoothly. We always advise our users to contact our customer support for troubleshooting. This is the most effective way to resolve any issues you may be experiencing. We typically respond within a few hours to customer support emails, whereas App Store reviews can take 48 hours to publish and then another 48 hours for our response to publish.
Not for me
While the app’s design is visually appealing, mimicking the look of a traditional camera, it’s not well-suited for touchscreen use on a smartphone. The layout could benefit from significant improvements to enhance user-friendliness. Additionally, I’ve noticed that adjusting settings like ISO and shutter speed can cause the viewfinder to nearly freeze, resulting in ghost images. These issues, combined with the steep subscription cost, make it hard for me to justify keeping the app. Instead, I’ll stick with editing my photos in Snapseed to achieve a similar vintage look.
I hope this feedback contributes positively to the growth of this app.
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!
I wanted to love it more...
And portrait mode defaulting to telephoto lense, without option to change to main.
Subscription only.
Response from developer
Hi Dan, When you activate the trial, you get full access for three days. If you decide Pearla isn't for you, you can cancel it without being charged.
Horrible - Zero Stars
I was a first time user and was not offered a free trial. I would've definitely not paid for my experience.
Response from developer
Buyers, we offer a free trial period for Pearla, which you can cancel at no cost. Please come to your own conclusions. Dear Spartafal, If you're a genuine customer and you experienced poor performance, please contact us at support@houseofmars.io. We typically respond to support requests within hours, and it's far more efficient than communicating with us via App Store reviews. Regarding lag, we thoroughly investigated every report of poor performance, and so far, we haven't identified performance issues after version 1.4 that were not attributed to user error. For example, users set their shutter speed below the smooth refresh rate for the viewfinder or misuse the dials. We are working on changes to our UI/UX to address some of those less intuitive controls. In the meantime, we encourage every user who experiences issues to contact us via the app so we can help them navigate the user experience. We welcome feedback from our customers, but unfortunately, there's nothing actionable for us in this review which appears to serve no purpose other than hurting our business. Lastly, we are one of the few camera apps on the app stores created by photographers. We considered our pricing model carefully and did everything possible to make Pearla accessible without compromising the quality of the product or our service.
Great App!
My Default Camera App
X100VI owner here
An awesome app!
Response from developer
Thank you for the kind words. We would love to know more about the lag you experience. This is the first report we received on lag when entering and exiting menus. We are also all "power users" of our app and have yet to encounter it ourselves. We would appreciate it if you could contact us at support@houseofmars.io so we can look into it and provide a fix.
