# Benshi — The slow retro film camera > Retro film camera app with advanced photo and video editing features. (iPhone/iPad app by IbouAI.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/benshi/id6769953532 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [IbouAI](https://appshunter.io/developer/1896703459) - Category: Photo & Video, Lifestyle - Price: Free with in-app purchases - Rating: 5.00/5 from 1 App Store ratings - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 17.0 · 33 MB - Languages: American English, Japanese, Korean - Released: 2026-06-01 - Data updated: 2026-08-16 - Monetization: free with in-app purchases - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/benshi/id6769953532/reviews.md ## What is Benshi? A retro film camera for the iPhone era. Benshi turns every photo into a piece of film. Portrait mode is the heart of the app — your darkroom in your pocket. Landscape mode turns into a small cinema for video, when you want it. Benshi (弁士) is named after the silent-film narrators of 1920s Japan, who gave voice to silent movies. The app gives that same voice to your photos. THE PHOTO ENGINE A real darkroom recreated at the pixel level. Five Metal shaders simulate silver-halide grain, the H&D characteristic curve, wavelength-separated halation, reciprocity failure, and 16-bit half-float color. Not a filter chain — actual physical simulation. Choose from 70 looks across 7 categories (Mood · People · Nature · City · Digital · Japan · Masters), then dial in 32 film stocks, 5 developers, and 8 lens profiles. About 90,000 combinations — every photo can become something different. LENS SIMULATION (rare beyond film-only apps) Most film apps stop at the film. Benshi also simulates the lens. Body × Lens × Film × Developer — swirly Helios bokeh, dreamy Summilux glow, thoriated amber cast, flat cine glass. 8 profiles from 28mm to 85mm, each with its own optical character, plus two cinema lenses for video. MANUAL CONTROLS & PRESETS Shoot like a rangefinder: continuous AF, spot metering, MF punch-in focus, AEB exposure bracketing, an intervalometer, and 7 white-balance presets. Save any setup as a camera preset and recall it in one tap, or build and name your own film × developer × look as a custom recipe (Pro). DEEP JAPANESE CULTURE (no other app does this) • Half-frame mode — two shutter presses become one diptych, like the 1963 Olympus Pen • Postcard (絵葉書) export — horizontal 1.48:1 with 罫線 lines and a vermilion 印鑑 date stamp • Ghost photo (心霊写真) — 1970s Japanese summer ghost-story-book mood • Slow-develop mode — recreates the "wait for develop" feeling of disposable cameras • 7 era presets (Showa 1965-74 / 1975-84 / 1985-88 / Heisei early / mid / late / Reiwa) • 3 Japanese era date stamps (和暦 / 印鑑 / typewriter / LED90s) • 12 camera skins (5 base + 7 Japanese era cameras: Half-Frame 63 · Bubble 88 · Showa Disposable 27 · Expo 70 · Heisei Digicam 01 · etc) RAW + RE-DEVELOP Automatic DNG capture on supported devices. Re-develop the same negative with different film, developer, lens, and effects — without losing the original. EXIF data preserved. LANDSCAPE FOR VIDEO Turn your iPhone sideways and Benshi becomes a small cinema. 16 video looks at 1080p (8 base + 4 Showa retro + 4 Japanese cinema), manual dial and grip, stop trick, ghost mode, iris transitions, film leader countdown, intertitle cards, procedural piano BGM. Cinema-style lens profiles (cineVintage50 / cineDreamy50) for that anamorphic feeling. STORY MODE Record 3 short clips and Benshi assembles a vertical 9:16 silent film with AI benshi captions in 4 title styles — ready to share. Free to use; only the watermark differs. PRICING • Lifetime $14.99 — pay once, no subscription drama • Monthly $4.99 with 7-day free trial • Family Sharing supported The free tier includes 22 of 70 looks, 4 video looks, RAW capture, and Story Mode (with watermark). Try Pro free for 7 days. AUTO-RENEWING SUBSCRIPTION INFO • Benshi Pro Monthly — $4.99/month with a 7-day free trial. Payment charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. • Subscription auto-renews at the same price unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the period. • Manage or cancel: Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions. • Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when purchasing a subscription. TERMS Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://windgksh.github.io/ibouCamera-policy/ CONTACT admin@ibou.ai ## Key features - Advanced photo darkroom engine - 90,000+ photo combinations - Deep Japanese cultural effects - RAW capture and re-development - Cinematic video editing - Silent film creation mode - AI-generated captions ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: Free. **Subscriptions** | Subscription | Price | Period | | --- | --- | --- | | Benshi Pro Monthly | $4.99 | per month | **One-time purchases** | Purchase | Price | Type | | --- | --- | --- | | Benshi Pro Lifetime | $14.99 | one-time | ## Frequently asked questions about Benshi ### What is Benshi? Benshi is a photo and video editing app that simulates the look and feel of vintage film cameras. It offers a sophisticated darkroom engine and unique Japanese cultural effects to give your media a retro aesthetic. ### Does Benshi have ads? No, Benshi does not contain advertisements. The app is free to download and use with optional in-app purchases for advanced features. ### What are the pricing options for Benshi? Benshi offers a lifetime purchase for $14.99 or a monthly subscription for $4.99, which includes a 7-day free trial. Family Sharing is also supported. ### What is the 'Story Mode' in Benshi? Story Mode allows free users to record up to three 10-second clips and have them automatically assembled into a vertical 9:16 silent film with AI-generated captions. The only difference for free users is a watermark. ### Can I re-edit photos in Benshi? Yes, Benshi supports RAW capture (DNG) on compatible devices. You can re-develop the same negative with different film, developer, and lens settings without losing the original image data. ### What devices is Benshi available on? Benshi is currently available for iPhone. It requires Apple Intelligence for AI-generated captions, which is available on iPhone 15 Pro or later. ### How often is Benshi updated? Benshi was last updated on June 24, 2026, with version 1.0.1. This indicates a recent update, suggesting ongoing development and support for the application. ### What is the age rating for Benshi? Benshi has an age rating of 4+. This means it is suitable for children and adults, with no mature content that would restrict its use. ## Version history (last 4 releases) ### 1.0.3 — 2026-07-12 Benshi 1.0.3 — keep your shots, shape your story. NEW • Auto-Save to Photos — switch it on in Settings and every developed photo is saved to your iOS Photos library too, automatically. Off by default — your in-app gallery is always kept, and you can still export individually. • Story clip manager — before you create your silent film, reorder your scenes by dragging, or remove one you don't want. • Photo Info — tap the info button on any photo to see its developer, film and look, plus full camera EXIF: ISO, shutter, aperture, lens. • Batch re-develop (Pro) — select several photos and re-develop them all with one developer in a single tap. Your originals are always kept. • Darkroom undo / redo — step back and forward through your tuning adjustments without starting over. • Customize your tools — pick exactly which advanced tools show up in the camera, and hide the ones you never touch. POLISH • Faster gallery loading, smoother sliders, and general stability improvements. Thank you for shooting slow with us. ### 1.0.2 — 2026-06-29 Benshi 1.0.2 — keep your shots, shape your story. NEW • Auto-Save to Photos — switch it on in Settings and every developed photo is saved to your iOS Photos library too, automatically. Off by default — your in-app gallery is always kept, and you can still export individually. • Story clip manager — before you create your silent film, reorder your scenes by dragging, or remove one you don't want. • Photo Info — tap the info button on any photo to see its developer, film and look, plus full camera EXIF: ISO, shutter, aperture, lens. • Batch re-develop (Pro) — select several photos and re-develop them all with one developer in a single tap. Your originals are always kept. • Darkroom undo / redo — step back and forward through your tuning adjustments without starting over. POLISH • Faster gallery loading, smoother sliders, and general stability improvements. Thank you for shooting slow with us. ### 1.0.1 — 2026-06-24 Benshi 1.0.1 — sharper controls, smoother darkroom. NEW • Pro-grade manual camera — continuous AF, spot AE, MF punch-in focus, AEB exposure bracketing, an intervalometer, and 7 white-balance presets • Camera presets — save your favorite setup and recall it with one tap • Custom film recipes (Pro) — build and name your own film × developer × look • Clearer onboarding for the dual camera — Portrait for today, Landscape for the cinema of memory FIXES & POLISH • Black & white film + Light Leak no longer tints the photo — the leak now stays a true monochrome glow, the way real B&W film behaves • Smoother video scene transitions (fixed a rare frame-count glitch) • Safer photo saving — no more partial files if a write is interrupted • Portrait mode now shows a clear alert if a capture fails • Faster gallery scrolling and quicker saves • Japanese / Korean label fixes and general stability improvements Thank you for shooting slow with us. ### 1.0 — 2026-06-01 No release notes. ## More apps by IbouAI - [Acorn Ledger](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/acorn-ledger/id6774955943) All apps by IbouAI: https://appshunter.io/developer/1896703459 --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-16.*