What Angelina Gave Brad for His Birthday

The tabloids had it that Angelina Jolie planned to give husband Brad Pitt a motorcycle for his birthday, which was on December 18. But we’re pleased to report, on this first day of Christmas, that Brad’s true love gave to him a camera. And not just any old digital SLR, but perhaps the most exotic camera in production today: the Littman 45 Single.

Though the upcoming issue of American Photo will focus on photography’s many enthusiasts in the film world, we weren’t aware that Mr. Jolie takes pictures. But if he plans to shoot with the Littman—a camera that’s been used by some of the world’s most conspicuous photographers, among them fashion greats Patrick DeMarchelier, Bruce Weber, and Peter Beard, not to mention celebs such as directors Gus Van Sant and Zack Snyder and musician Bryan Adams—he’d better hurry up and get serious about his photography. The Littman is anything but an off-the-shelf, auto-everything camera, and has a pretty steep learning curve.

It seems Angelina found out about the Littman when actor Colm Feore was shooting with it on the set of her as-yet-unreleased movie, Clint Eastwood’s The Changeling, in which Feore plays a supporting role. But what Jolie ended up ordering was no ordinary Littman. Brad’s new camera, shown here in closed position (we'll post images of it in its operating mode as soon as we have them) is fundamentally a Littman VI—the latest generation of a unique 4x5 rangefinder built on the chassis of a Polaroid 110 that has been completely reengineered to permit both focusing and parallax-corrected viewing through a single window. Translation? It’s sort of a Leica on steroids, in that it allows precisely-focused, precisely-framed handheld 4x5 photography, with all the latter's rich detail and beautiful defocus. The Littman VI adds a feature not found on previous models of the Littman 45 Single: the ability to adjust, to perfection, the parallelism of film and lens planes that’s so critical to wide-aperture 4x5 shooting.

When company founder William Littman learned of the camera’s intended recipient, something clicked. “I remembered that he has a special love for modern architecture, so I knew it was time to bring out the sketches for the Littman Empire State,” says the builder-in-chief, himself an accomplished fashion photographer. “It’s a sort of retro-futuristic homage to the early 20th-century skyscraper, with the set design of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis thrown in.” In form-follows-function custom, the camera’s design is integral to its construction. “It doesn’t just look like modern architecture,” says Littman, who explains that the new model is part of his "Opus + Art" collection. “Its utility and technology are based on architectural principles that improve the camera’s performance and precision.”

(Littman describes the camera as a “research project,” and indeed, he has been refining it since its 2001 introduction. He's quick to point out that his changes have been based on feedback from the many working photographers, not just celebrities, who’ve sprung for the camera. You can get a sense of the Littman’s “very tight family” in the owners’ gallery at littman45single.com.)

So here you see it, in all its towering, one-of-a-kind glory—Brad Pitt’s new Littman Empire State. (Left and below, some details from the camera.) What more fitting name for a made-to-order gift to America’s leading man? But stay tuned, because Angelina Jolie reportedly ordered at least one more camera from Littman, and we intend to find out who’s been nice, not naughty, enough to get it.
--Russell Hart

Comments

[Paul]

What was the price?

[WALT]

What was the price of the camera?

[Russell]

I knew you were going to ask! We don't have that information, and it's not available for the asking due to concern for the Pitt-Jolies' privacy. This camera was obviously a cut above Littman's usual custom work, but you should be able to get a sense of the line's pricing at littman45single.com.

[Paul L.]

I wanted to find the price of the camera because I want to order one almost exactly like it.

[Wedding Photographers]

Man that's some camera! I'd love to get my hands on that.

[FrankC]

Not sure what the fuss is all about...why would someone purchase a camera on used polaroid chassis when they can buy the same type of camera from Linhof. They have been making the Master Technika Classic for years...it has the same type of build quality as a Leica...from Germany.

[Russell Hart]

The Linhof is a gorgeous and superbly built camera, but it's simply not the "same type" as the Littman. It's great for tripod-mounted shooting, but isn't designed to be used handheld, which is really the point of the Littman. Handheld shooting is why the Litmann has Leica-style coupled-rangefinder focusing with parallax correction (the Linhoff doesn't), weighs half as much as the Linhof, and allows precise adjustment of film- and lens-plane parallelism (the Linhof doesn't). These are some of the reason why photographers such as Walter Chin have retired their Master Technikas and picked up the Littman.