Reviews of Pearla - Pro Filmic Camera

By: Guy Cassidy App

List of user reviews and ratings for Pearla - Pro Filmic Camera

Total ratings

4.20 (Rating count: 304)

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Review summary

The app is praised for strong film emulations, realistic grain, and 4K open-gate footage that film enthusiasts value. However, multiple reviews point to a costly subscription, a confusing and brittle UI, stability problems, media-saving challenges, and unreliable real-time previews that hamper daily workflows.

Pros

Realistic film emulations with adjustable grain that deliver authentic cinematic looks.
4K open-gate video capability delivering cinematic framing and quality.
Distinctive film stocks/recipes that appeal to film-look enthusiasts (anamorphic/XPAN style options).
High-quality photo results and simulations that complement video features.

Cons

Mandatory subscription model with ongoing cost and no clear one-time purchase option.
Cumbersome UI/UX and navigation that many users find confusing, with missing back/navigation controls.
Stability and performance issues, including frequent crashes, freezes, and lag.
Difficulties saving/exporting media and managing the gallery within the app, plus unclear sharing options.
Real-time preview issues, including LUTs causing pitch-black screens, desqueeze inconsistencies, and occasional login/authentication glitches.

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User Reviews

Recent rating average: 2.10

All time rating average: 4.20

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25% (14)

Date	Author	Comment
2026-07-07	—I*****	Needs improvement.
Needs improvement.
2026-07-02	An*****	I love your app and love the simulations and how I have been able to record some great videos with it, but please improve your UX. Example, when I am on the film emulation screen, how do I go back to the camera view? There is no back arrow no indicator, nothing. Fix this please. It should be an easy fx.
I love your app and love the simulations and how I have been able to record some great videos with it, but please improve your UX. Example, when I am on the film emulation screen, how do I go back to the camera view? There is no back arrow no indicator, nothing. Fix this please. It should be an easy fx.
2026-06-29	so*****	very difficult to change settings, some config(like exposure)are unable to save. Tap the viewfinder and focus mode will change to manual forever(unless I switch it back), I means, seriously? Bad UI design, I’m confused by the way to switch between photo/video, when tapping the video bottom, what’s the photo/video capsule for? Why not just change to photo. The developer should pay me to use this app
very difficult to change settings, some config(like exposure)are unable to save. Tap the viewfinder and focus mode will change to manual forever(unless I switch it back), I means, seriously? Bad UI design, I’m confused by the way to switch between photo/video, when tapping the video bottom, what’s the photo/video capsule for? Why not just change to photo. The developer should pay me to use this app
2026-06-09	ju*****	There’s no alternative if you want to use custom LUTs from non-iPhone color spaces like Fuji. However, it’s missing a lot of basic features. For example, there is no option to save photos only to my camera roll. To save to my camera roll, it also saves to the app storage, which is now taking up 13GB and there’s no way to bulk delete these photos either so I have delete one by one or uninstall and reinstall the app. The navigation is also tricky - multiple swipes and taps to simply change the focal length. Would be nice if we can customize the top bar. Lastly, it mutes all audio when entering the app which feels unnecessary.
There’s no alternative if you want to use custom LUTs from non-iPhone color spaces like Fuji. However, it’s missing a lot of basic features. For example, there is no option to save photos only to my camera roll. To save to my camera roll, it also saves to the app storage, which is now taking up 13GB and there’s no way to bulk delete these photos either so I have delete one by one or uninstall and reinstall the app. The navigation is also tricky - multiple swipes and taps to simply change the focal length. Would be nice if we can customize the top bar. Lastly, it mutes all audio when entering the app which feels unnecessary.
2026-06-09	ar*****	I love this app. The color profiles are great, the level of control is insane, and it’s all super easy to understand. The ONLY thing it’s missing is that it can’t be opened via the Camera Control button, and that there’s no control to add it to the Control Center or Lock Screen, which means if you wanna open it quickly, it either needs to rest on your Home Screen, or you need to make a Siri Shortcut for it.
I love this app. The color profiles are great, the level of control is insane, and it’s all super easy to understand. The ONLY thing it’s missing is that it can’t be opened via the Camera Control button, and that there’s no control to add it to the Control Center or Lock Screen, which means if you wanna open it quickly, it either needs to rest on your Home Screen, or you need to make a Siri Shortcut for it.
2026-06-03	Or*****	Nice features, but it’s pretty unstable. 100% not worth paying for currently. Unreliable in the field. 17P
Nice features, but it’s pretty unstable. 100% not worth paying for currently. Unreliable in the field. 17P
2026-05-19	Da*****	I absolutely cannot get the animorphic part of this app to work correctly. No matter what setting I try , my footage doesn’t look correct . I even have to turn off “ record “ in the anamorphic section because it does this weird zoom in to the left . It seems if you close the app , all sorts of weird things happen , like lens choice disappearing. Or maybe just changing a setting messes everything up . Plus lack of user luts is a bummer . I really want to love this app , but I have already emailed them , messaged on Instagram , no response
I absolutely cannot get the animorphic part of this app to work correctly. No matter what setting I try , my footage doesn’t look correct . I even have to turn off “ record “ in the anamorphic section because it does this weird zoom in to the left . It seems if you close the app , all sorts of weird things happen , like lens choice disappearing. Or maybe just changing a setting messes everything up . Plus lack of user luts is a bummer . I really want to love this app , but I have already emailed them , messaged on Instagram , no response
2026-04-28	Gh*****	App shows free in App Store, and requires you to pay monthly or yearly… no thanks
App shows free in App Store, and requires you to pay monthly or yearly… no thanks
2026-04-20	jd*****	Promising though not free if you want access to more features the app is almost impossible to use and doesn’t have the option to use the camera button on the phone. Very slow.
Promising though not free if you want access to more features the app is almost impossible to use and doesn’t have the option to use the camera button on the phone. Very slow.
2026-04-10	Co*****	Where’s the back button after we get into the settings. Let this app be wonderful, but if I’m not able to navigate within the app how will i use it?
Where’s the back button after we get into the settings. Let this app be wonderful, but if I’m not able to navigate within the app how will i use it?