Benro Aureole Announced – Mount Adapter with Slots for Drop-in Filters

Lens Adapter

by Olaf von VossJanuary 3^rd, 2022

Benro have announced their latest accessory, which is actually two products in one: a traditional lens adapter and a dual drop-in filter holder. Meet the Benro Aureole!

Most newer mirrorless cameras have lens mounts with a fairly short flange distance, which was necessary with older mount systems because DSLR cameras used a mirror box between the lens and the sensor or film plane.

So in order to use old(er) lenses, an adapter is needed, and since such an adapter has to bridge the longer flange distance, there is room for other useful things, such as filters.

Benro Aureole mount adapter

The new Benro Aureole adapter / filter holder is available in two variants: one (RC1) adapts Canon EF glass to an RF mount camera such as the EOS R5, the other (RE1) allows the use of Canon EF glass on a Sony E camera such as the popular a7S III.

Please keep in mind that you will need a camera with a full-frame sensor to work with a full-frame EF lens on such sensor. The Benro Aureole adapter does not offer any optical elements, it is just a mechanical adapter with the added benefit of having two drop-in filter slots.

The trick to this adapter is certainly that it can accommodate up to two drop-in filters. Both square and circular filters are supported. Small thumbwheels can be used to adjust the filters, e.g. to set the desired strength of a gradient ND filter or to adjust a circular polarizing filter. Weirdly, there is no mention of a dedicated vari-ND filter for now (one of the main reasons to buy this I think).

More specifications

What is also missing is a bit more information about the unit itself. It does look like it is at least partially made of metal, but there is no solid information about it. It weighs about 130g and both variants measure 88x72x39mm.

If you are not using both filter slots, Benro seems to include a cover to protect the temporarily unused side mount. It should prevent dust from entering and also block stray light. How well the overall adapter is protected against the elements remains to be seen.

For added stability, the Benro Aureole features a universal base that allows the entire setup to be attached to a tripod with either an Arca-Swiss head or standard 1/4″ screws.

Pricing

The new Benro Aureole Mount Adapter is not yet available, but you can register on the Benro website for a special introductory price of $180 instead of the regular price of $249. When exactly the launch will be and what the individual components of the system, such as replacement filters, will cost is unfortunately still unknown.

Link: Benro

What do you think of this adapter/filter holder? Would you use such an accessory for your current setup? Share your experience in the comments below!