Exceptional
Subscription based - don’t waste your time
Despite me saying it is comparable to Fuji, I would not say this is the best film sim application for its current price point. FILCA has far more film simulations and ergonomics are much more fluid than trying to make your app look like a camera. It’s a cool concept but very unnecessary.
My best recommendation for this company is to actually make this an affordable one time purchase and allow people to want to use your app. I do understand there is a free trial, but in a realistic world no one is going to use/abuse a free trial that only lasts a couple of days.
If I do ever see this become a one time purchase situation, then I’ll come back. Until then I’d rather spend my money on a roll of film.
Response from developer
With respect, you're saying our app does a great job at doing what it says on the tin, yet you rated it 1 star because of our pricing model. Without going into the ethics of doing the equivalent of showing up to a business, standing at the door, and telling all its customers they shouldn't go in and go to some other store across the street instead, the particular competitor you highlighted is an interesting choice. That competitor requires a one-off payment just to download the app, additional payments for individual features, and a substantially more expensive subscription than Pearla on top of those purchases. We did our best to price Pearla fairly and affordably, and we believe our product offering is better than our competitors. We launched less than three months ago and have released several big features since, including bringing the Sony S-Log3 color space to the iPhone (something no other application has ever done!), and we are just getting started.
Give it a Try!
Response from developer
We appreciate your kind words. We think log shooters are in for a treat with our next major release! :)
Great pictures. Terrible interface. No X100!
Response from developer
Dear Jeffruth, We appreciate your kind words and are glad you value the quality of Pearla's images. We never claimed that Pearla is a Fuji X100 series replacement. Many users make that comparison, so we reference it in some of our communications. We always reference it in the spirit of capturing the joy of using an X100VI when you don't own one or don't have it with you. Please note that Pearla is supported on all iPhones that are capable of running iOS 17. Each device will have a ceiling regarding image quality. An iPhone 11 will not produce the same image quality as an iPhone 15 Pro. However, Pearla will produce the best possible image with iPhone 11 hardware. User experience is subjective, but we are proud to share that the majority of feedback we receive from our users is consistently positive. That said, constructive criticism helps us improve Pearla. We always advise unsatisfied users to contact us at support@houseofmars.io. It is the most efficient way to give us your feedback, as it allows us to follow up and better understand the issues you raise.
Pretty good
Looking forward to seeing where this app goes in the future.
Response from developer
Hi Matzchase, Thank you for your kind words! Based on your review, we think you'd love some of the updates we have planned for later this year! :)
Best film simulation app
Response from developer
Dear Scjd26214, Thank you for your kind review! We worked hard on our film simulations and are always happy to hear that our customers enjoy using them! Regarding the waiting time, we added a light indicator to warn users that Pearla is processing one or more images. It doesn't prevent you from taking more photos, as Pearla is capable of processing multiple images at the same time. The purpose of it is so that you don't minimize or exit the app, as some restrictions related to background processing in iOS may terminate the process and clear the buffer before the image is saved.
👎🏼
Response from developer
Dear Hate O'Clock, You are incorrect. Pearla is available for free on a trial basis. Developing and maintaining apps is a complex and costly process. To ensure the privacy and security of our customers' data, we ask those who find value in our app to consider making an in-app purchase. We have strived to make our pricing as fair and accessible as possible.
Great app and I love the real camera feel
Great film emulation but still has things to improve
I also think the pricing model is quite fair but I do think that the the UI needs to be reconsidered. Having the tiny dials which are quite fiddly to operate properly and the small shutter button is unnecessary and feels like a decision made for style over function.
Other apps like halide or even the stock camera app are a lot better optimised for a phone screen.
With an improved UI I would happily pay the subscription because I’ve been looking for an app to do exactly this for a while.
Response from developer
Thank you for your thoughtful feedback. In our customer surveys, the dials are consistently very popular. However, there are some users who find them unintuitive. In 100% of the cases we investigated where people reported issues with the dials, it was down to using gestures they weren't designed for, and all it took was a short demo for people to appreciate the UX choice. We've collected a lot of feedback on this issue, and we're confident our next major release will appeal to the dial fans as well as critics. We hope to see you back then!
Great camera app
I’m giving this 5 even though there are a couple of things I hope they continue to build out (ability to mark two or three film sims as favourites for quicker access would be an improvement I reckon) because I adopted early and reported an issue, and their response was quick and courteous, and they had it fixed inside a month. High hopes. :)
