Liquid Lens vs Video Effects Camera
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Liquid Lens
Transform your phone's camera into a live effects studio. Apply real-time distortions, color grades, and glitches directly in the viewfinder. Edit existing photos with the same powerful tools.
- Real-time camera effects
- Distortion and color grading
- Stackable effects
- Adjustable effect intensity
- Edit existing photos
- Exposure control
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Liquid Lens is a camera built around one idea: layer effects live, save the look, shoot it again in one tap. Most camera apps make you pick a single filter. Liquid Lens lets you stack chromatic aberration, film grain, warped glass, and a hand-tuned gradient map all at once — and watch it composite in real time on your screen before you ever press the shutter. When you land on a combination you love, save it as a named preset and it's one tap away forever. No rebuilding your look shot by shot. EVERYTHING RUNS ON YOUR DEVICE Every effect is a custom Metal shader running locally through your GPU. Nothing is uploaded, nothing routes through a server — your photos and video never leave your phone. That also means zero lag between moving a slider and seeing the result on screen. LAYER YOUR EFFECTS, LIVE Combine any number of effects at once and see the composited result in the viewfinder in real time — not a preview render, not a "processing" screen. What you see is what gets captured, at full 48MP resolution. SAVE YOUR LOOK AS A ONE-TAP PRESET Dial in a stack of effects exactly how you want it, then save it and name it. Every slider value, every palette choice, and your warp level are stored together. Tap a saved Look and your entire stack snaps back instantly — no more re-dragging six sliders to match a look you had yesterday. EDIT PHOTOS FROM YOUR LIBRARY, TOO Effects aren't just for new shots. Pull any photo from your camera roll into the same live editor — same sliders, same presets, same Metal pipeline — and apply your layered look to photos you already have. 20+ EFFECTS TO STACK Color grading: Chromatic Aberration — edge-weighted RGB split Halation — warm highlight bloom Hyper — saturation that pushes color while crushing shadows Pink & Glow — a two-part beauty grade (faded-film color shift + dreamy highlight bloom) Blacks — shadow crush Oil Slick — drifting thin-film iridescence on highlights Solar — Sabattier tone-inversion on highlights Gradient Maps — 10 cinematic color-grade palettes (Sunset, Vapor, Ocean, Neon, Aurora, Ice, Acid, Rose, Noir, Matcha) Texture & distortion: Grain — animated film grain Sharpen Zoom Blur — radial motion blur from center Mesh — live 3D wireframe displacement Chrome — liquid-metal relief effect Polar — polar coordinate warp Trails — light trail smearing Ripple — animated water rings Fractal — reeded shower-glass refraction Marble — flowing ink/marble domain warp Warp — 4-level reverse-fisheye distortion, tap to cycle BUILT FOR ACTUALLY TAKING PHOTOS Full-resolution capture Photo and video capture, front and back camera Drag-to-adjust exposure control (-2 to +2 EV), right on the live preview Three aspect ratios: 4:5, 5:7 and 9:16 Flash for back camera, simulated screen-flash for front camera selfies Built-in gallery for everything you shoot in-app ONE PRICE, NOTHING ELSE TO BUY $2.99, once. No subscription, no in-app purchases, no ads, no account required.
Video Effects Camera
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Turn movement into light. Pulse is a video-only effects camera that transforms motion into live echoes, trails, clones, flashes, and tunnels. See every effect while you shoot, then trim, save, or share the result in seconds. NEW IN PULSE 1.2 - Mercury turns skin into liquid metal that reflects the room - Opal lays soap-film color across the picture in pastel bands - Star Flare throws a long anamorphic streak off every highlight - Etched puts the lights out and keeps only the outlines, cut into dark glass - Projection finds you with a cold projector and dims everything else 25 LIVE EFFECTS - Light Echo and Motion Trail leave movement hanging in the frame - Rainbow Trail paints movement with rainbow light, and Time Stack leaves a row of afterimages - Neon Clone and Shadow Double split you into bold afterimages - Prism Delay and RGB Whip pull color channels through time - Neon Trace draws glowing outlines that slowly fade - Beat Strobe, Freeze Flash, Scan Pulse, and Solar Burn add rhythmic impact - Datamosh and VHS Rewind break the frame into glitch blocks and tape wobble - Feedback Tunnel, Kaleido Beat, Vortex Trail, Liquid Echo, and Slit Drift reshape the live frame - Mercury, Opal, Star Flare, Etched, and Projection work the surface itself STUDIO LIGHT AND DUAL CAM - Studio Light turns the edge of your screen into a neon light that lights your face in the dark. Six colors, three power levels, and the camera preview stays full screen. - Dual Cam records with the front and back cameras at once, picture-in-picture or split screen, with your effect on both. BUILT FOR VIDEO - Swipe left or right on the camera preview to change effects - Open the Effect Deck to see all 25 looks at once - Adjust effect intensity with one direct signal control - Switch between front and rear cameras, or use both at once with Dual Cam - The controls fold away while you record, so the frame stays clear - Record clips with sound, or silent clips when microphone access is off FINISH AND SHARE - Trim a recording to the moment you want - Preview at 0.5x, 1x, or 2x speed - Save to Photos or use the standard iOS share sheet - Send a video directly to Instagram Stories when Instagram is installed PULSE PRO Studio Light and Dual Cam are included for everyone. Light Echo, Motion Trail, and Beat Strobe are free to export. Everyone can preview, tune, record, and edit all 25 effects; exporting a clip made with any of the other 22 effects requires Pulse Pro. Free recordings can be up to 8 seconds and exported videos include a Pulse watermark. Pulse Pro unlocks export for 22 Pro effects, extends recordings to 15 seconds, and removes the Pulse watermark from exports. Choose an auto-renewing monthly or yearly subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase. Available plans and prices are shown before purchase. Your Apple Account is charged at confirmation. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in your Apple Account subscription settings. YOUR VIDEO STAYS ON YOUR IPHONE Pulse processes camera frames, audio, effects, edits, and exports on your device. Pulse does not upload your camera feed or recorded clips. No account is required. Privacy Policy: https://pentarab.com/pulse/privacy Terms of Service: https://pentarab.com/pulse/terms Support: https://pentarab.com/pulse/support
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Video Effects Camera at Free against Liquid Lens's $2.99. Liquid Lens's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and update cadence (daily vs every 5 days). 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
Video Effects Camera is free to download; Liquid Lens costs $2.99 up front. Video Effects Camera sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Liquid Lens asks for nothing beyond the download.
Liquid Lens ships an update daily, Video Effects Camera every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Liquid Lens | Video Effects Camera |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Daily — better | Every 5 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 26.5 | 26.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 25 MB | 13 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sydney Bryn | Pentarab |
In-app purchases
Liquid Lens
No in-app purchases
Video Effects Camera
- Pulse Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
- Pulse Pro Yearly$19.991 Year
- Pulse Pro$24.99









