Will AI Video Kill Gear Review Channels?

Will AI Video Kill Gear Review Channels?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately 💭 — not just as a creator, but as someone who’s actually stood out there in the real world with cold fingers wrapped around a camera, watching the wind curl across the Red River and the light shift over The Forks. Every time people say AI video is going to “kill” gear reviews, I feel this mix of curiosity and disbelief, because so much of what I do is tied to the feeling of holding the gear, testing it, trusting it, being annoyed by it, or being surprised by it. No AI can fake the shiver that runs through you when you step outside at -20°C with a DJI Action 5 Pro mounted on your bike 🚲✨, hoping the battery doesn’t die before you hit Provencher Bridge. That moment is real — and that’s the gap AI can’t cross.

When I picture the future, I see AI pumping out perfect studio B-roll 🎥 — slow product spins, flawless lighting, smooth macro shots of lens glass highlighted like jewelry. And honestly, part of me loves it. I’ll use it too. Who wouldn’t want clean animations rendered in seconds? But every time I imagine AI doing the entire review, something inside me pushes back. Because when I walk down Waterfront Drive with a camera strapped to my chest, I’m not thinking about perfection — I’m thinking about the way the cold air stings my eyes, the way the footage reacts to the winter sun, the way the audio cracks when a gust of wind hits the mic grill. AI doesn’t know the feeling of a camera slipping in your gloves, or the satisfaction of locking in the perfect stabilization setting after ten minutes of trial and error. ⚙️🌬️ Those lived moments make the review real.

I’ve seen fake reviews online — you can spot them instantly. The words sound glossy but empty. There’s no human line, no spark, no little truth that comes from real frustration or excitement. When I own a camera, I actually live with it. I’ve filmed my cats jumping around the living room, their paws tapping across the floor while the Insta360 X5 tries to keep up 🐾🎥. I’ve pushed cameras through gritty bike rides, early sunsets, humid summer days, and quiet indoor evenings where the only light came from the kitchen window. And every time, I form a personal opinion — a real one. AI doesn’t know what it’s like to accidentally hit the record button too early or too late, or to be annoyed when the battery door is too stiff, or to feel that rush when your footage comes out cleaner than expected. Those experiences stick to you.

What AI will do — and I’m actually excited for this — is handle the soulless stuff. The spinning product animations ✨. The lens diagrams. The simulated high-key lighting and background replacements. I’ll use AI like a tool, not a replacement. It’ll free up time for me to do the part I care about: being out there, actually filming, actually feeling the moment, actually discovering what the gear can do. And that’s where creators like me will stand out — not by ignoring AI, but by blending it with the real-world grit that no machine can manufacture.

Will AI Video Kill Gear Review Channels?

FINAL THOUGHTS

Sometimes when I think about the future of gear reviews, I remember those evenings when I’ve been outside with a camera in my hand 🎥🌄, watching the light fade over Winnipeg. There’s always this quiet emotional pull during those moments — that feeling of being connected to both the gear and the environment around me. AI can recreate the look of that moment, but never the feeling of it. It doesn’t get to feel the cold wind, or the excitement of capturing something beautiful, or the disappointment when something doesn’t work. That human thread is what makes a review meaningful.

What this all taught me is that people don’t trust perfection — they trust presence. They trust the creator who was actually there, who actually struggled with the menus, who actually tested the audio in a real windstorm 🌬️, who actually learned something while shooting. AI can mimic words, but it can’t mimic those tiny truths we gather from real experience. And that’s why real creators will always matter — because we bring more than information. We bring honesty.

To me, AI feels like a new kind of lens — helpful, fast, powerful, but still just a tool. It can enhance the story, but it can’t be the story. The story comes from the person holding the camera, riding the bike, walking the trail, filming the pets, traveling the city, and finding something worth sharing. That part belongs to us — the creators, the testers, the people who still get excited when a shot turns out better than expected ✨💭.

So here’s the truth the way I feel it: AI might shape the future, but creators who show up in the real world will always shape the meaning.