ZWO 5x1.25″ Filter Wheel review: five 1.25 inch slots, 300 g
Where does it rank on our leaderboard
| Rank | Accessory | Stars for Your Buck | Recorded UK price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GEMINI EAF | 100 out of 100 | £42 |
| 2 | Generic Dew Heater | 93 out of 100 | £9 |
| 9 | SVBONY Dew Heater | 85 out of 100 | £19 |
| 20 | ToupTek EAF | 75 out of 100 | £170 |
| 27 | ZWO 5x1.25″ Filter Wheel | 65 out of 100 | £198 |
| 28 | ASIAIR Mini | 64 out of 100 | £215 |
| 43 | ToupTek AstroStation / StellaVita | 40 out of 100 | £339 |
| 45 | SKY ROVER 2x54 Binoculars | 28 out of 100 | £139 |
| 46 | 365 Solar Telescope Cover | 5 out of 100 | £73 |
Contents
- 01 Where does it rank on our leaderboard
- 02 Specifications and features
- 03 In use
- 04 In my words
- 05 Watch it in my videos
- 06 Should you buy it?
- 07 Questions and more about this review
In 30 seconds
Stars for Your Buck 65/100
Reviewed 18 May 2026 Updated 25 Sep 2026
- Rank
- #27 of 46 accessories
- Verdict
- Worth a look
Written by Damon Scotting 2 min read
Buy it if
- You own 1.25 inch or 31 mm filters
- Your mono camera has a small sensor
- You run your rig from an ASIAIR, which drives only ZWO filter wheels
Skip it if
- Your camera is APS-C or larger: 2 inch filters and the 7 x 2 inch wheel suit it better
- You want an LRGB set and a full narrowband set loaded together
Specifications and features
Against the accessories I have reviewed
Compare with
| ZWO 5x1.25″ Filter Wheel reviewed #27 of 46 | ZWO 7x2″ Filter Wheel #25 of 46 | |
|---|---|---|
| Recorded UK price | £198 | £398 |
| Stars for Your Buck | 65/100 | 71/100 |
| Model | EFW-5x1.25-25 (2025) | EFW-7x2-25 (2025) |
| Positions | 5 | 7 |
| Filters | 1.25 inch mounted, filter area up to 7 mm thick; 31 mm unmounted, 1.5 to 3.5 mm thick | 2 inch mounted, filter area up to 7 mm thick; 50 mm unmounted, 1.5 to 3.5 mm thick |
| Effective thickness | 20 mm | 20 mm |
| Weight | 300 g | 720 g |
| Power | 5 V, 120 mA over USB | 5 V, 120 mA over USB |
| Connection | USB-C, USB 2.0 Type-A to Type-C cable included | USB-C, USB 2.0 Type-A to Type-C cable included |
In use
Five positions, 1.25 inch filters
The carousel and its light seal
In my words
“Perhaps the first thing you will note is that the bargain bin Laida filter set is at a disadvantage since it’s only 1.25 inches. Now, there are 2 inch versions of this filter available out there that would have been better suited for this test, but as you will shortly see, the Laida 1.25 inch filters still managed just fine, which is really weird.”
From my filter comparison video
Watch it in my videos
£58 vs £1369 Filters, Can You Tell the Difference? · published 18 May 2026 · 16:23 · Watch on YouTube · 14,155 views, 497 likes on 2 Oct 2026
Jump to
- 1:14 Meet the contestants, Laida £58
- 3:12 Why the 1.25 inch set starts at a disadvantage
Should you buy it?
65/100 Stars for Your Buck
Pros
- 300 g, well under half the 7 x 2 inch wheel’s 720 g
- Half the price of the 7 x 2 inch wheel ($199 against $399 at ZWO)
- Powered and controlled over one USB-C cable at 5 V and 120 mA: no separate power lead
- It held my 1.25 inch Laida narrowband filters in my filter comparison video
Cons
- 1.25 inch filters are small for an APS-C sensor: on my ASI2600MM they needed flats to clear the vignetting
- Five positions: LRGB and a full Ha, OIII and SII set will not fit at once
- Unmounted filters must be 1.5 to 3.5 mm thick and mounted ones no more than 7 mm in the filter area
Five 1.25 inch filters, 300 g and one USB-C cable make this the ZWO wheel for a small-sensor mono camera; my APS-C ASI2600MM takes 2 inch filters in the 7 x 2 inch wheel.
One alternative I have reviewed
ZWO 7x2″ Filter Wheel Seven 2 inch positions for APS-C and larger 71/100 £398 Read the review
Questions and more about this review
Reviewed by
Damon Scotting
The Telescope Man Verified
BSc (Hons) Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology, Loughborough University PGCE / QTS, University of Nottingham
About Damon About Damon Damon Scotting is The Telescope Man. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology from Loughborough University and a PGCE with QTS from the University of Nottingham, and taught physics in secondary schools before becoming an astronomy creator. He is a contributing writer for BBC Sky at Night Magazine and the author of 42 Wonders of Our Night Sky, and his photograph of the galaxy M100 with the dwarf planet Ceres was Highly Commended in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2024 competition run by Royal Observatory Greenwich. He has appeared on the BBC's Blue Peter. More than 750,000 people follow his astronomy channels on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, and he has reviewed more than 140 telescopes, mounts, cameras, filters and accessories hands-on for this site. More about Damon · How I test · Damon's book
I review all kinds of gear: most of it I buy, some is gifted and some is loaned, and all of it is reviewed the same way. How this site is funded
Five questions, answered
Questions about the ZWO 5x1.25″ Filter Wheel
Reviewed 18 May 2026 ·Updated 25 September 2026
I review all kinds of gear. Most of it I buy, some is gifted and some is loaned, and all of it is reviewed the same way: no company sees or approves a review before it is published. Shop links marked Ad are affiliate links: I earn a commission when you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. How this site is funded
- What filters fit the ZWO 5x1.25″ Filter Wheel? Five 1.25 inch mounted filters with a filter area up to 7 mm thick, or 31 mm round unmounted filters 1.5 to 3.5 mm thick. The specifications and the comparison table ↓
- Is a 1.25 inch wheel big enough for an APS-C camera? It is on the small side. With 1.25 inch filters on my APS-C ASI2600MM I needed flats to clear the vignetting, and my 2 inch filters go in the 7 x 2 inch wheel on that camera. In use ↓
- How is it powered and controlled? Over one USB-C cable: it draws 120 mA at 5 V. An ASIAIR only drives ZWO filter wheels, so this is the 1.25 inch wheel to pick if you run one. The specifications and the comparison table ↓
- Where can I buy the ZWO 5x1.25″ Filter Wheel? The prices I recorded: £198 at First Light Optics (UK), in stock; $199 at Agena Astro (US), in stock; $199 at ZWO store (Global), in stock. A record, not a live price The verdict, the readers and the sellers ↓
- What have I not tested on the 5x1.25″ Filter Wheel? I have not timed a filter change or used it with a small-sensor camera.