Comparison

Pocket Log Camera vs FRMT

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

Head to head
About

Pocket Log Camera

This camera app captures natural-looking photos by bypassing standard processing like sharpening and HDR. It offers the option to save the original "negative" file for advanced post-production editing. Your photos remain private and on your device.

Highlights
  • Natural rendering without sharpening or HDR
  • Save original "negative" files for post-production
  • Fixed 24mm-equivalent wide camera
  • Tap-to-focus with manual exposure control
  • ProRes RAW capture on iPhone 17 Pro
  • Privacy-focused with no analytics or ads
Read full description

Pocket Log Camera is a small iPhone camera that takes the processed look out of your photos — built from Apple's Log video pipeline. How it works Most camera apps save a photo with sharpening, HDR, and noise reduction baked in. Pocket Log does something different: it takes the current frame from Apple's Log video pipeline and develops it with PocketLog Natural — a rendering that adds no sharpening, no HDR, and no noise reduction, with skin-friendly color. The finished photo saves straight to Photos as 10-bit HEIC (or JPEG in compatibility mode). For users who grade in post-production, Pocket Log Pro can also save the negative — the original from the same moment (ProRes RAW open gate on iPhone 17 Pro, 4K Apple Log MOV on other models). Point. Shoot. Keep the natural photo, or re-develop the negative. The camera • Fixed 24mm-equivalent back wide camera — always the same lens • 3:2 still frame (portrait and landscape); ProRes RAW captures keep the full 1.40:1 open-gate frame • Tap-to-focus with manual exposure bias slider (−2 to +2 stops) • Flash control · Adjustable shutter sound • Optional burned-in date stamp on the photo (never on the negative) • Capture confirmation via haptic + brief blackout flash Your archive • Finished photos save to Photos (10-bit HEIC, optional JPEG) • Recent captures can be reviewed in the app • Pro negatives (ProRes RAW or Log MOV) save locally in the app's Documents/Originals folder • The Originals browser lets you review, share, and clean up negatives — or move them to your Mac for grading ProRes RAW capture (iPhone 17 Pro) On iPhone 17 Pro, Pocket Log Pro can capture a single-frame ProRes RAW original — the full 4224×3024 open-gate sensor readout, saved on your iPhone with no external SSD. It opens directly in DaVinci Resolve's Camera Raw panel for full RAW development. On other supported models the app automatically uses the 4K Apple Log pipeline instead. Privacy first No analytics. No ads. No network calls during camera use. Your photos stay on your device. Requirements Pocket Log Camera uses Apple's Log video pipeline. It is designed for iPhone Pro models that support Apple Log — iPhone 15 Pro / 15 Pro Max or later on iOS 17 or later. ProRes RAW capture requires iPhone 17 Pro. Pocket Log Pro — $2.99 one-time purchase in the U.S. • Unlocks "Save the Negative (Original)": ProRes RAW open gate on iPhone 17 Pro, 4K Log MOV on other devices • Photo capture remains free • Purchase and restore are handled by Apple

About

FRMT

This app offers highly accurate film simulations, replicating real film characteristics like halation, interimage effects, and natural grain. It provides four distinct film stocks and allows users to develop RAW files, either captured within the app or imported from other sources.

Highlights
  • Accurate film simulation
  • Halation and interimage effects
  • Real grain simulation
  • Four distinct film stocks
  • RAW file development
  • No subscription or ads
Features
Read full description

FRMT is the most accurate film simulation on the App Store. Here is why that is a real claim and not marketing. Most film apps are filters. A filter is a lookup table. It takes the color of a pixel, swaps it for a different color, and that is the whole trick. Same color in, same color out, every time, no matter what is around it. Film does not work like that. Light scatters sideways through the emulsion. Each dye layer chemically holds back the layers next to it. Dye forms in clumps, and how much forms depends on how much light hit that exact spot. What a pixel becomes depends on everything around it. FRMT simulates that, stage by stage, on every frame you shoot. WHAT IT ACTUALLY DOES Halation. Light passes through the emulsion, bounces off the film base, and exposes it again slightly off to the side. Bright edges bloom instead of stopping dead. Interimage effects. Developing dye releases a chemical that drifts sideways and holds back its neighbors. This is most of what gives a stock its color signature, and it is why reds stay clean next to greens. Real grain. Not a texture laid on top. Grain here is the actual variation in how much dye formed, so it follows the tones. Strongest in the midtones, almost gone in deep shadow, the way it works on the real thing. The curves and the numbers come off the manufacturers' own published datasheets. Nobody eyeballed a preset. FOUR STOCKS Cinnabar 50. Punchy and saturated. Landscapes, foliage, sunsets. Galena 100. Neutral and even. Travel, streets, mixed light. Baryta 100. Soft and fine grained. People, portraits, overcast days. Flint 64. Grainy and warm with cool shadows. Street, hard light, neon. You load one at a time, the way you load a roll. There is no look picker on the capture screen and there are no sliders. None of the four is a preset of another. HOW IT WORKS Press the shutter and a RAW negative is written immediately. Developing happens afterward, in the background, and takes about a minute per frame. That is not a loading spinner, it is real work on the GPU. Frames wait on the roll until they are done, and you can set developing to hold until you are plugged in. Finished photos save to your photo library and stay in the app, so you can look at them without leaving. You can also import RAW files you shot on something else and develop those. ON A PHONE WITHOUT PRORAW The simulation is built for RAW negatives, and that is where it is most accurate. On an iPhone that cannot shoot ProRAW, FRMT still works: it develops the phone's own photos through the same film, from what is left after the phone's processing, and marks those frames on the roll so you always know which is which. You can also import RAW files from another camera and develop those at full accuracy. NO SUBSCRIPTION, EVER Pay once. No account, no cloud, no ads, no watermark, no in app purchases. Your photos never leave your phone. There is no networking code in the app at all. WHAT TO EXPECT The viewfinder shows you the scene, not the film. Grading a live preview means guessing at the answer, and a preview that guesses wrong is worse than one that is honest. Use the exposure dial to place your highlights. This is slide film. There is not much room above the highlights. That is faithful, not a bug. Most accurate on an iPhone that can capture ProRAW. Works on any iPhone running iOS 17.2 or later.

Screenshots

Pocket Log Camera4 screens
FRMT4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Pocket Log Camera at Free against FRMT's $14.99. FRMT's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 6 days vs every 2 weeks). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Pocket Log Camera is free to download; FRMT costs $14.99 up front. Pocket Log Camera sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. FRMT asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pocket Log Camera ships an update every 2 weeks, FRMT every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Pocket Log Camera versus FRMT: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPocket Log CameraFRMT
PriceFree — better$14.99
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews—66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.0 — better17.2
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKumo, Inc.Levi Foster

Customer experience

Pocket Log Camera

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

FRMT

Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Pocket Log Camera

One-time1
  • Pocket Log Pro$2.99
None

FRMT

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pocket Log Camera free?
Pocket Log Camera is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is FRMT free?
FRMT costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Pocket Log Camera or FRMT have ads?
Neither Pocket Log Camera nor FRMT shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pocket Log Camera or FRMT?
Pocket Log Camera ships an update every 2 weeks, and FRMT every 6 days. Most recently, Pocket Log Camera was updated on October 24, 2026 and FRMT on October 25, 2026.

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