Anybody familair with Benz Gant 3000T 50 mm Camera

[James]

Apparently my father bought two of these new at some point. Selling off his tremendous accumulation of "stuff" for my mother and wonder if these have any significant value.

They both have carry cases, tripod, and flash. It appears they were some sort of shopping network package. Search on google didn't provide much info.

Thanks!

 

[Rich Rohrich]

From what I can tell from various photo sites it seems to be an inexpensive made in China camera with a German sounding name:

http://www.merrillphoto.com/images/BenzGant1.jpg
http://www.merrillphoto.com/images/BenzGant2.jpg


BENZ-GANT HELIOFLEX 3000T 35MM CAMERA
This fairly large, but relatively light, 35mm camera has a panoramic option, four aperture settings, a hot shoe, and a tripod socket. The aperture ring is a bit too tight, and the manual film winding wheel clicks rather noisily when it is turned. The back door is opened by pulling up on the rewind crank, rather than pushing a lever or switch. The panoramic/normal switch is also somewhat stiff, but is easier to change than those on some smaller panoramic cameras. The viewfinder seems to be of fairly good quality. The original lens cap was easy to install and remove, while the sunshade required more effort. Mixed results from this camera have been reported by other photographers. It is often sold with an external flash unit, tripod, and/or other accessories. IMAGE
UPDATE: Another unit of the same model seems to be a bit heavier, and has less stiff, easier-to-use aperture and panoramic/normal controls. A review of the 3000T in "Light Leaks" magazine indicates that the camera has problems with light leaks and its film counter resets inappropriately at times.

 

[James]

Thanks Rich.

I found some info similar to that but nothing indicating value. Searching the completed auctions at an unmentionable site also gave no sold items.

I am guessing they are relatively worthless but wanted to make a reasonable effort before tossing/donating them. Pawn shops around here won't even look at film cameras.

Those newspaper clips are most reassuring. I bet my dad got them as part of that promo...unfortunately...he was like that. I also have a ton of "collectable" toys/memorabilia that most likely have similar origins.