The 'Rohar' 2.5 lens in the TMC is a pretty close match to the Rokkor, and both are surprisingly decent little projectors for small screen projection. Similar in design and dimensions, but the two slide carriers are just different enough not to interchange. Here it is, with a stablemate, a TMC ('Made in Japan by the Taylor-Merchant Company). Inherited a few years ago from a friend who had bought it some time around 1961 in Japan while in the service, along with a Minolta 16 camera, which I also have. Here are a few pics, enjoy! My Minolta Mini is not as nicely preserved as yours, but it came with a hard case and the autochanger. It's in marvelous condition and came in the original case. It can project two slides and while one slide is in the gate the other can be switched out. It still works! The top opens up and the sliding film holder fits in front of the lamp. I'm guessing late 50's - early 60's, If anyone knows please chime in. I'm not sure of the date it was introduced but it's seems beautifully made. It was so cute and tiny I snatched it right up. He had a box of photo odds and ends and said I could have anything I wanted. This came my way via a friend of a friend. MINOLTA 35 MINI SLIDE PROJECTOR WITH CASE MANUAL ADAPTERS & BOX WORKS. As far as I know, the lenses are all interchangeable and for details there's plenty of info online from Kodak.įor viewing, any flat matte-white wall surface will do, but if you want to look for a portable projection screen, I like the glass-bead type better than the lenticular ones.Shop from the world's largest selection and best deals for Minolta Slide & Movie. I have one of each type and an important difference is that the Ektagraphic lens can be taken apart for cleaning while the Carousel lens is permanently glued together. Ektagraphics might tend to have suffered more from rugged institutional use while Carousels have probably spent most of the last 20-40 years in a closet. The professional-grade models are called Ektagraphics and they are supposedly more durable than the consumer-grade Carousels, but the differences seem slight. Look for machine from the late 70's onward because these will have the modern halogen bulbs.

I don't know if there's a limit to how long you can leave an image up, but there's an air-cooling system blowing on the slide, so it's several minutes at least.

I got my pair from a thrift shop and an estate sale, but there's always eBay. I don't know what's generally available in Japan, but Kodak Carousels are plentiful, durable, work very nicely, can still be repaired and the trays are easy to find.

Minolta mini 35 slide projector manual