Benshi
The slow retro film camera
Only for iPhone
Free · In‑App Purchases
iPhone
Portrait mode for retro film photos — 70 looks · 32 films · 5 developers · 8 lenses. Landscape mode for video & cinema. Half-frame, postcard, era stamps.
- 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.
- 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 — silent film for TikTok / Reels / Shorts
Record 3 clips up to 10 seconds each. Benshi auto-assembles them into a vertical 9:16 silent film with AI-generated benshi captions in 4 styles (classic / art deco / noir title / minimal). Available to free users — 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.
AI-generated captions, intertitles, and recommendations require Apple Intelligence (iPhone 15 Pro or later, M-series iPad). Other devices use a curated library of preset phrases.
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
Ratings & Reviews
The developer, IbouAI, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Linked to You
The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
- Diagnostics
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- Ibou AI Co.,Ltd.
- Size
- 33.3 MB
- Category
- Photo & Video
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 17.0 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 17.0 or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
English and 2 more
- English, Japanese, Korean
- Age Rating
4+
- 4+
- In-App Purchases
Yes
- Benshi Pro Lifetime $14.99
- Benshi Pro Monthly $4.99
- Copyright
- © 2026 ibou.ai
