Comparison

SWRLY vs Quick Night Camera

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

SWRLY

Recreate the unique swirly bokeh effect of the 1840 Petzval lens. This app is ideal for portraits, offering a sharp center with artistic background blur. Explore antique film presets for a vintage photographic feel.

Highlights
  • Authentic swirly bokeh effect
  • Ideal for portraits
  • Depth and TrueDepth support
  • Antique film presets
  • Easy to use
Features
Read full description

SWRLY is a modern take on the original swirly lens, the Petzval, created in 1840 by Josef Petzval. This lens design was one of the first portrait lenses and is characterized by a unique swirly bokeh effect. Many of the earliest photos (daguerreotypes, tintypes, etc.) were captured with Petzval lenses. The Petzval lens has a sharp center region surrounded by swirly bokeh, making it fantastic for portraits. SWRLY is the first app to faithfully recreate this effect. FEATURES - Unique swirly bokeh authentic to the original lens - Great for portraits with Depth and TrueDepth support - Simple to use with great results - Presets like antique film types such as daguerreotype, tintype, etc. Get SWRLY now!

About

Quick Night Camera

Transform dark photos and videos into bright, daytime-like images in real-time. Adjust light and dark levels with intuitive touch controls and apply a night-vision effect for enhanced brightness. Easily create inverted, negative-style images.

Highlights
  • Real-time night-vision photos
  • Brighten dark images
  • Adjust light and dark graph
  • Night-vision effect slider
  • Create negative-style images
  • Save to camera roll
  • Photo sharing options
Features
Read full description

■ With Real-Time Night-Vision Monitor, you can take night-vision photos at high speed. ・ Change a dark image taken at night, dusk, backlight, etc. into a bright image like daytime. ・ Combine with the night-vision effect to make it even brighter. ・ Change a bright image taken in the daytime or in a bright environment into a dark image such as at night or at dusk. ・ Free control of light and dark of photos and videos by touch operation on the light and dark graph. ・ Easy creation of interesting negative-style images by reversing the light and dark. [Settings] - Brightness Graph: Anchor points are controlled by touch operation - Night Vision Effect: Adjust the degree of night-vision effect with the slider control [Output] - Save to camera roll: photos - Photo sharing: AirDrop, LINE, Facebook, Dropbox, Instagram, ... [Important] Unlike infrared cameras, iPhone / iPad cannot take pictures in a completely dark environment. In dimly lit environments, this app brightens your photos with night vision correction. However, the darker the image, the worse the image noise. This is the same for the human eye.

Screenshots

SWRLY4 screens
Quick Night Camera4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Quick Night Camera at $1.99 against SWRLY's $4.99. SWRLY's advantage is chart position (#196 vs unranked). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

SWRLY costs $4.99 and Quick Night Camera $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and August 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
SWRLY versus Quick Night Camera: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSWRLYQuick Night Camera
Price$4.99$1.99 — better
Rating4.5 (88 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews54.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings88 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#196 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size45 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJames GroteMasanori Katsuta

In-app purchases

None

SWRLY

No in-app purchases

None

Quick Night Camera

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SWRLY free?
SWRLY costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Quick Night Camera free?
Quick Night Camera costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do SWRLY or Quick Night Camera have ads?
Neither SWRLY nor Quick Night Camera shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SWRLY or Quick Night Camera?
SWRLY ships an update every 4 months, and Quick Night Camera every 4 months. Most recently, SWRLY was updated on September 24, 2026 and Quick Night Camera on August 12, 2026.

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