Who knew that a camera flash would be the most iconic prop from Star Wars. In the movie, the handles of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader’s lightsabers were both made from vintage camera flash guns. Pretty cool, huh?!?

Watch this short episode below where DigitalRev In-Focus explains how set decorator Roger Christian is responsible for making the most iconic prop from Star Wars being a camera flash.

Star Wars had quite a small budget at first, so Christian had to visit antique dealers and thrift shops for prop ideas, and in a tiny photography shop on London’s West End, he found a 1940s Graflex camera with a 3-cell flash gun attached. The flash gun, with only minor modifications, would become Luke’s iconic lightsaber. Watch more in the video below:

It only cost Christian $15 to convert the flash gun to a lightsaber, but one of the two he created was sold to a museum in Seattle for $250,000, making this flash handle one of the most expensive movie weapon props ever sold. In the original article on PetaPixel, they said, "thanks to the prop’s “return” in Episode 7, chances are good that price (and the flash gun’s status) will only go up."

If you love Star Wars, just like we do, be sure to watch the video above to hear more about this piece of camera equipment and how it became one of the best-known props in movie history.

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