Filter Slider - Complete System
Starizona
$129 (Slider), $40 (Holder, each), $25 (Adapter)

At the "First Annual David H. Levy Arizona Dark Sky Star Party", October 2019, my wife Laurraine won a door prize: an Optolong 2" HA SII OIII Narrowband Telescope Filter Kit. During my initial focus tests I had difficulty getting as precise a focus as I wanted (even when using a Bahtinov Mask). Part of the problem was that I had to remove the camera to swap filters. That resulted in a potential focus change as well as a likely slight field-of-view orientation change. After researching filter wheels and sliders, I decided to go to Starizona in Tucson and check out their new Filter Slider System. The product had just arrived and after doing some fit checks with my DSLR adapters I decided to purchase the Slider, two extra holders, and an adapter for my visual back. We also tried out my Optec focal reducer, but due to the focal reducer design the Filter System would not work with it. Here is the system and how it looks on the telescope with the DSLR.

The ease of swapping filters with the Starizona Filter System became evident very quickly. Once a filter is screwed into the Holder the Holder is slid into the Slider; magnets keep the Holder in the right position. When finished with the filter the Holder is easily removed from the Slider by pulling it out. Having a Holder for each filter to be used means that the filters can be permanently inserted into its own Holder. The plastic bags the Holders come in do not provide much protection for the glass filters once they are inserted into the Holders. I am using a small box to store the three Holders with the filters inserted.

As I continued to use the Filter Slider System I began to wonder if I could use it with an eyepiece. After doing a successful eyepiece focus test with the Starizona Filter Slider System by handholding the eyepiece over the camera port, I called Starizona to find out if they had a M42-SCT adapter for their Filter Slider System. They did. I also purchased a 2"-1.25" filter adapter.

I tested the M42-SCT adapter on the Filter Slider System. It worked to attach a SCT visual back onto the holder, seen here using a 1.25" 26mm eyepiece, with and without the filter tray in place.

There was only one problem; the 1.25" tube was loose as the SCT ring could not be fully tightened down. I found a rubber washer that fit perfectly without blocking any light. Adding that eliminated the problem. I also tested the 2"-1.25" filter adapter with my six 1.25" filters. I was disappointed to discover that my four colored filters were too tall to slide into the filter holder. My other two 1.25" filters, an old Scopetronix Moon Filter and an Astronomik Hydrogen-Beta Filter, were usable with the Filter Slider System. I may look at replacing the colored filters with smaller sizes.

Summary

Anyone who uses multiple filters on their telescope, whether for visual use or astrophotography, will appreciate the convenience of using the Starizona Filter Slider System.

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