Jaw-dropping slo-mo video of Artemis II launch captured with Nikon ZR and a borrowed US$16,000 lens!

NASA's 322-foot-tall Artemis II Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft lifts off from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center on April 01, 2026 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. — The Artemis II rocket launch propelled Orion on a journey that would take its crew further away from Earth than any human has gone before (Image credit: Getty Images / Chip Somodevilla)

If you’re going to use a $16,000 lens, it might as well be to film a milestone moment in human history. And according to DP Review, that’s exactly what photographer and videographer Jared Sanders (@hyprlyte) did when he captured a jaw-dropping video of the Artemis II launch on April 1, 2026, the spacecraft that propelled four astronauts farther away from Earth than any human being has ever travelled before.

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Jared is an avid photographer of rocket launches, who previously photographed the Artemis I’s night launch, where he got to capture a full-moon rise behind the rocket and even set up a remote camera. For the Artemis II launch, his setup was a little different. In a YouTube video, before the launch, he covered all of the camera kit he was going to use, including the Nikon ZR, Fujifilm GFX 100 II, and Red Komodo X. But on the day, his plans changed slightly.

According to DP Review, Nikon had a tent at the launch site, where it was handing out gear for creators to borrow. Jared was handed the Nikon Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S, a lens that retails for $16,199.95 / £14,999.00 / AU$27,049. Unsurprisingly, Jared took the opportunity and decided to pair the lens with his Nikon ZR to capture what I think is one of the coolest perspectives of the Artemis II launch.

The video starts with slow-motion footage of the rocket launching in front of a crowd of onlookers, with a person in the foreground fist-bumping the air with excitement. We then get a cropped image of the rocket climbing through the composition before its fiery boosters dominate the frame. The content creator revealed on Instagram that the footage was graded with filmic color-grading software Dehancer.

If you’re wondering why Nikon was at the launch, the ‘Big N’ has a long and fruitful history with NASA. And indeed, the Artemis II crew took Nikon cameras along for the ride in Orion, including an old Nikon DSLR as its primary camera.

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Mike studied photography at college, honing his Adobe Photoshop skills and learning to work in the studio and darkroom. After a few years writing for various publications, he headed to the ‘Big Smoke’ to work on Wex Photo Video’s award-winning content team, before transitioning back to print as Technique Editor (later Deputy Editor) on N-Photo: The Nikon Magazine.

With bylines in Digital Camera, PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine, Practical Photography, Digital Photographer, iMore, and TechRadar, he’s a fountain of photography and consumer tech knowledge, making him a top tutor for techniques on cameras, lenses, tripods, filters, and more. His expertise extends to everything from portraits and landscapes to abstracts and architecture to wildlife and, yes, fast things going around race tracks...

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