Pearla represents a paradigm shift in mobile photography and videography, transforming your iPhone into a professional image-making tool with capabilities that rival dedicated digital cameras. Born from recognising that traditional camera manufacturers have been slow to innovate their operating systems, Pearla reimagines what a modern camera interface can be.
Pearla bypasses the iPhone’s standard image processing pipeline and implements a sophisticated system optimised for artistic and professional photography.
While the stock iPhone camera app serves as a universal utility, treating document scanning, casual snapshots, and family photos with the same approach, Pearla is purposefully crafted to capture moments authentically and create compelling visual narratives.
The app harnesses the iPhone’s powerful processing capabilities to deliver professional-grade features previously found only in high-end digital cameras. From implementing industry-standard log profiles to its film emulation system, Pearla brings the technical sophistication of professional photography workflows to mobile creators.
Pearla is more than just a camera app. It’s a statement about the future of photography. It demonstrates that with thoughtful software design, Pearla can transform the device in your pocket into a powerful creative tool that honours the craft and joy of image-making. Whether you’re capturing street photography, portraits, or nature, Pearla provides the precise controls and creative flexibility that serious photographers and hobbyists demand.
When you first launch Pearla, you’ll be asked to grant the following permissions:
Signing in with Apple is required to create your Pearla account.
After completing the guided setup, we recommend reviewing these default settings: Image Quality Preferences
If you encounter any issues during installation:
When you first launch Pearla, it’s already configured for;
The heart of Pearla’s interface is its context-sensitive primary dial system, which provides intuitive access to multiple camera controls:
Tap the capture mode indicator to toggle between:
Take time to understand how the main dial integrates with Pearla’s controls. Unlike traditional camera apps that rely on overlay menus, Pearla’s dial-centric interface provides faster, more intuitive control once mastered.
Personalize your experience by assigning your go-to functions to custom buttons and selecting a theme that enhances visibility in your usual shooting environment.
Pearla provides four customisable control buttons that can be configured to match your shooting style. You can configure them to;
Personalize Pearla’s appearance with three distinct visual themes:
Choose from various app icon designs. Personalize your device’s home screen and maintain visual consistency with your preferred theme.
Understanding exposure control in Pearla puts the power of professional image-making in your hands. Whether you’re shooting in auto or manual mode, Pearla provides intuitive tools to achieve your creative vision.
Auto mode in Pearla intelligently evaluates the scene while giving you precise control over the final exposure. The exposure value (EV) compensation system lets you fine-tune the automatic exposure to match your creative intent.
To adjust exposure in auto mode:
Combining automatic exposure with manual override gives you both convenience and control. It’s beneficial in changing light conditions or when you need to work quickly.
Manual mode gives you complete control over your exposure settings. Pearla’s unique control system makes adjusting exposure parameters quick and intuitive:
Video exposure control in Pearla introduces professional cinema-style options that allow you to maintain consistent motion rendering:
When shooting in situations with challenging light, consider using the histogram display (toggle in settings or assign to a custom button). That gives you a real-time view of your exposure distribution.
Pearla’s RAW+JPEG capture system is essential for photographers who want to maximise image quality while maintaining flexibility in post-processing. This powerful feature lets you capture both formats simultaneously, giving you the best of both worlds.
When shooting in RAW+JPEG mode, Pearla captures two versions of each image. The first is a RAW file, which gives you maximum editing flexibility. The second is a processed JPEG with your selected film profile and recipe settings applied. On supported devices, Pearla automatically uses Apple ProRAW format, providing additional computational photography benefits while maintaining the flexibility of RAW. Pearla captures standard RAW files on other devices, ensuring you still have complete post-processing control. Both raw formats are processed using Apple’s default image development pipeline. JPEG images bypass Apple’s pipeline and are developed using Pearla’s pipeline and your image processing settings.
Remember that film profiles and recipes apply to JPEG only, leaving your RAW files untouched during capture. The JPEG preview allows you to monitor your creative decisions in real-time while maintaining the security of an unprocessed RAW file.
The dual-format capture opens up unique creative workflows. You can use JPEG files with your chosen film profile for quick sharing or when you’re satisfied with in-camera processing. Meanwhile, your RAW files remain available for images that need more extensive editing. This approach lets you compare processed and unprocessed versions to refine your recipes or maintain an unprocessed archive while delivering stylised JPEGs.
Your captured images appear as a single asset in the Photos app but contain both formats. This intelligent handling means you don’t need to manage separate files but retain all the benefits of both formats. You’ll have immediately shareable JPEGs with your chosen look alongside full-quality RAW files for professional editing, all while maintaining efficient storage management and simple image organisation.
You can access the raw files in two ways:
While RAW+JPEG capture requires more storage than JPEG alone, the benefits may outweigh the storage cost.
Consider using RAW+JPEG for important shoots. The JPEGs provide immediate results with your chosen look, while the RAW files serve as digital negatives. That allows you to revisit and reprocess images as your creative vision evolves or when new processing tools become available. Think of it as having both a finished print and the original negative, but in digital form.
Pearla’s film emulation system provides nine distinct profiles, each carefully crafted to deliver specific aesthetic qualities. These profiles allow photographers to achieve classic film looks directly in the camera.
There are two ways to change film emulation profiles:
Standard - With its flattering skin tones, medium contrast and captivating vibrancy, Pearla’s standard film simulation has natural richness and depth, creating a timeless quality ideal for capturing real-life moments.
Standard-L - Vibrant and true-to-life colors with moderate contrast and sharpness make it our collection’s least stylized and most versatile simulation.
LDN 1992 - Inspired by Lomochrome 92, it delivers a distinctive color simulation experience. Unexpected hues, vibrant tones, and experimental textures capture captivating and unpredictable moments with creativity.
Achromia - Drawing inspiration from urban landscapes, it provides a distinct simulation with deep blacks, desaturated yet dramatic tonal curves and high contrast.
Classic Neg - This simulation evokes the nostalgia of everyday film with meticulously balanced color. Delivers subtle contrast and boosted definition, showcasing richer saturation than Classic Chrome alongside deeper shadows for a timeless, vintage aesthetic.
Visage - This simulation is inspired by the characteristics of the popular Portra 400 stock, known for its natural skin tones and fine grain. It offers a wide exposure latitude, balanced contrast and vibrant colors.
Visage Umbra - This simulation retains Visage’s characteristic smoothness, yet its shadow handling offers increased flexibility in challenging lighting situations.
Chroma Solaris - Inspired by Kodak Gold 200, It produces warm, vibrant images with a timeless charm, making it a popular choice for everyday photography.
Afthonos - Emulates the iconic Fuji Velvia stock, celebrated for its ultra-saturated colors and high contrast. It creates bold, vivid images with exceptional clarity and depth — ideal for capturing landscapes, nature, and vibrant scenes.
Classic Chrome - This simulation channels the raw essence of vintage documentary photography. Desaturated reds and greens, with bold shadows, create a timeless, understated aesthetic perfect for capturing drama, retro themes, and reportages.
Niveus - With its cool tones and high contrast, Niveus evokes a cold, pristine world. It is perfect for capturing serene yet bold atmospheric imagery.
Solara - Inspired by Ilford HP5, Solara is a monochrome film simulation with medium contrast. It is ideal for journalism, documentary, travel, sports, and indoor light photography and thrives in diverse lighting conditions.
Solara Urbanis - Solara Urbanis is a monochrome film simulation ideal for capturing urban landscapes with bold contrasts and crisp details. Its lack of red sensitivity renders reds and oranges darker with a higher contrast than Solara.
Solara Visage - Solara Visage has enhanced sensitivity in the red and orange channels and a smoother highlight roll-off. It is designed to complement skin tones and excel in portrait photography.
Pearla’s Log capture system, Pearl-Log, brings professional colour grading flexibility to both stills and video. By capturing images and video with expanded dynamic range and neutral colour reproduction, Pearl-Log gives you maximum control over your final look in post-production.
Pearl-Log captures images and video with a mathematically precise tone curve that preserves maximum detail in highlights and shadows. This approach differs from standard capture by postponing creative decisions about contrast and colour until post-processing. This flexibility empowers photographers and cinematographers with enhanced control over their final images.
When you enable Log mode in settings, Pearla shifts into a specialised capture state optimised for post-production flexibility. All film profiles and recipes are bypassed in this mode, ensuring clean, gradable footage. Log mode applies only to JPEG photos and video files, leaving RAW files unaffected.
The Log Settings screen provides essential controls for your workflow. Here, you can select your target colour space matching and upload custom 33-point LUTs. Your uploaded LUTs can be applied during image processing, streamlining your workflow while maintaining the benefits of Log capture.
We carefully crafted Pearl-Log’s colour science to integrate with professional workflows through precise colour space matching. When working with Pearl-Log, you can match your footage to Sony S-Log3 or Nikon N-Log colour spaces, ensuring seamless integration with footage from professional cameras.
This compatibility serves several crucial purposes. For cinematographers, it means Pearl-Log footage can be cut seamlessly with footage from professional cinema cameras. For photographers, it ensures colour accuracy when matching Pearla’s photos with photos and videos from professional cameras. The colour space matching system also means you can use industry-standard LUTs and grading presets designed for S-Log3 or N-Log, simplifying your post-production workflow.
Viewing Log footage can be challenging due to its intentionally flat appearance. Pearla addresses this through its Gamma Assist feature, which provides a corrected preview while maintaining Log recording. That makes composition and exposure evaluation more intuitive without compromising the benefits of Log capture.
Protect your highlight detail whenever possible for precise exposure control. Log capture provides extensive dynamic range, but maintaining clean highlights ensures maximum flexibility in post-production. The same monitoring tools in standard capture, including the histogram, remain in Log mode.
Pearl-Log works consistently across all supported frame rates, resolutions, and codecs. The Log implementation remains consistent whether you’re capturing stills or video, working in standard or Open Gate format, or using different frame rates. This uniformity simplifies post-production and ensures predictable results.
When working with Pearl-Log footage in post-production, treat it like any professional Log-encoded material. Begin by applying a technical LUT to convert from Log to your working colour space, then proceed with creative grading or follow a CST workflow in a colour grading software like Davinci Resolve.
Video capture in Pearla begins with a simple mode switch. Locate the capture mode indicator and tap to toggle between photo and video modes. Once in video mode, the viewfinder adjusts to show your video frame, and the shutter button transforms into a recording toggle.
To begin recording, press the record button. The timer will turn red and start running, confirming you’re recording. To stop recording, press the button again. Your video will automatically save to your camera roll.
By default, Pearla starts in these video settings:
Once you’re comfortable with basic recording, Pearla offers professional-grade options to enhance your video capture.
Pearla provides three resolution options, each serving different needs:
Pearla supports the following video codecs:
Your available frame rates depend on your iPhone model. Standard devices (iPhone XS through iPhone 14) support up to 30fps in all resolutions. Pro devices (iPhone 15/16 Pro) extend this to 60fps, supporting 48, 50, and 59.94fps options.
Audio capture begins automatically with your video recording, using AAC format at a 44.1kHz sample rate. No additional setup is required for basic audio capture.
Open Gate recording in Pearla provides access to the iPhone’s whole sensor area, capturing video at 4032x3024 resolution. That maximises image quality and provides additional creative flexibility in post-production.
Up to 30fps on all devices
Shutter angle control provides professional cinema-style motion rendering in video mode, offering precise control over motion blur and exposure.
Shutter angle is a traditional cinema concept that defines the relationship between motion blur and exposure in moving images. In film cameras, it refers to the angle of the rotating shutter disc that determines how long light hits the film. In Pearla, this concept is digitally implemented to give you precise control over motion rendering in your videos.
Creating and using custom recipes in Pearla extends your creative possibilities beyond the standard film profiles. A recipe allows you to craft and save your unique look, combining multiple adjustments into a single, reusable preset.
A recipe begins with your choice of film profile as a foundation. From there, you can fine-tune numerous parameters to achieve your desired look. Think of recipes as your personal film stocks.
Begin by accessing the recipe creation tool in Pearla’s settings screen. Select a film profile that closely matches your intended look—this becomes your starting point. From here, you can adjust:
The tonal characteristics, through shadow and highlight controls, allow you to shape the overall contrast of your image. Colour rendition can be refined through multiple tools: colour balance for overall shifts, colour chrome effect for subtle enhancements, and separate control over the blue channel.
Fine-tune the image’s appearance with saturation and vibrance controls. Midtone detail control lets you enhance or soften the rendering of textures and fine details.
For a finishing touch, add character through grain and bloom effects. Grain can be adjusted in size and intensity, creating anything from subtle texture to pronounced film-like grain. The five-level bloom effect can add ethereal highlights or a dreamy atmosphere to your images.
Your saved recipes appear in a dedicated list within the settings screen. Each recipe enhances Pearla’s core capabilities, but remember that recipes don’t affect images captured in Log Mode. This separation ensures that when you need a clean, gradable image, Log mode provides an unmodified starting point.
Consider creating specific recipes for different scenarios: one for portraits that emphasise clean skin tones, another for landscapes that enhance natural colours, or perhaps a high-contrast recipe for street photography. By building a collection of recipes tailored to your needs, you can quickly adapt to different shooting situations while maintaining consistency in your work.
Our customer support team is readily accessible through the help section within Pearla. When you submit an inquiry, you can expect a response within 24 hours. To help us address your issue efficiently, we encourage you to provide detailed information about any problems you encounter, including specific settings and conditions when the issue occurred.