Comparison

Provoke Camera vs SWRLY

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

Head to head
About

Provoke Camera

This app creates gritty, grainy, black and white images inspired by 1960s Japanese photography. It offers various film formats and live view effects, and can also import and edit existing photos from your camera roll.

Highlights
  • Gritty, grainy black and white image creation
  • Inspired by 1960s Japanese photography
  • Square format 126 and 35mm format 135
  • 9 black and white live view effects
  • 4 color live view effects
  • Import and edit photos from camera roll
  • Supports TIFF uncompressed files
Read full description

Doesn't support iPads. Developed in collaboration with Glyn Evans [the founder of iPhoneography], Provoke Camera was inspired by Japanese photographers of the late 1960’s like Daido Moriyama, Takuma Nakahira and Yutaka Takanashi. Simple, elegant and easy to use, Provoke Camera does just one thing, produce black and white images with that gritty, grainy, blurry look reminiscent of the “Provoke” era of photography, and in two great formats; square format 126 and 35mm format 135. Provoke Camera features 9 great black and white and 4 color live view effects, in 2 great film formats, 126 [1:1] and 135 [3:2]: 1. HPAN High Contrast 2. NPAN Normal 3. LPAN Low Contrast 4. X800 More High Contrast with more noise. 5. I800 IR like filter. 6. Z800 +2EV with more noise. 7. D100 Darken with Blur (4Pixel) 8. H100 High Contrast with Blur(4Pixel) 9. E100 +1.5EV with Blur(4Pixel) 10. Nofilter 11. 100 Old Color 12. 100U Vivid and Sharp 13. 160N Soft In addition to capturing beautiful, gritty, grainy, contrasty black and white images, Provoke Camera will also allow you to import photos from your camera roll and apply any one of its “Provoke” effects. And Support TIFF Uncompress image file. Also support Photo Extension with iOS8 later. You can use Provoke Filter in Photos App.

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!

Screenshots

Provoke Camera1 screens
SWRLY4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Provoke Camera at 4.8 against SWRLY's 4.5. Provoke Camera also leads on price ($1.99 vs $4.99) and review sentiment (65% vs 55%). SWRLY's advantage is ratings volume (88 vs 6) and chart position (#190 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

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Provoke Camera holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SWRLY has 88 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of Provoke Camera's written reviews are positive against 55% of SWRLY's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Provoke Camera ships an update every 2 months, SWRLY every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Provoke Camera versus SWRLY: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterProvoke CameraSWRLY
Price$1.99 — better$4.99
Rating4.8 (6 ratings) — better4.5 (88 ratings)
Positive reviews65.2% of reviews — better54.8% of reviews
Number of ratings688 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#190 — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB45 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperToshihiko TamboJames Grote

Customer experience

Provoke Camera

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews112 reviews
Positive65.2%
Neutral13.4%
Negative21.4%

SWRLY

All ratings88 ratings
Positive88.6%
Neutral3.4%
Negative8.0%
Written reviews31 reviews
Positive54.8%
Neutral3.2%
Negative41.9%

In-app purchases

None

Provoke Camera

No in-app purchases

None

SWRLY

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Provoke Camera free?
Provoke Camera costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is SWRLY free?
SWRLY costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Provoke Camera or SWRLY?
Provoke Camera is rated higher. Provoke Camera averages 4.8 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while SWRLY averages 4.5 from 88 ratings.
Do Provoke Camera or SWRLY have ads?
Neither Provoke Camera nor SWRLY shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Provoke Camera or SWRLY?
Provoke Camera ships an update every 2 months, and SWRLY every 4 months. Most recently, Provoke Camera was updated on September 23, 2026 and SWRLY on September 18, 2026.

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