The best hooks for camera gear reels, from 600+ that went viral
We read the opening line of every viral camera gear reel in Aubrium's library: which hooks show up most, which travelled furthest, and 16 real ones to learn from.
Every photographer has an opinion on megapixels, and one reel turned that into a single line: "Pov: your camera has 24 megapixels". Its creator had 1,945 followers. It drew 7.3 million views.
That reel is an outlier. Across this niche, the middle viral reel reached 12 times its creator's followers, and 70 reels passed a million views. We read the openings of the 600+ viral camera gear reels in Aubrium's library, from 500+ creators reviewing cameras, lenses, tripods and rigs. For the same read on every niche at once, see the hooks that work across Instagram; every niche we looked at has the full list.
Relatable lines went furthest on viral camera gear reels: the middle one reached 30 times its creator's followers, though only 7% use one. Curiosity gaps are the most common, at 18%, with bold claims and questions at 16% each. 76% show the hook as text on screen, and the middle hook is 9 words.
Aubrium's library, 31 October 2026.
What kind of hook works best for camera gear reels?
Relatable lines, by a wide margin, at 30 times their creator's followers. They're rare, though: 7% of these reels.
Everything else sits close together. Curiosity gaps, the biggest group at 18%, reached 13 times, bold claims 12 and questions 10. Warnings went 19, but only 15 reels use one. A relatable line here can be a photographer's in-joke, like the one about a "same day payment rig". And 15% have no hook of any type, at 13 times.
16 camera gear hooks that went viral
Film cameras, tripods, a camera that got thrown, and one honest regret about going mirrorless. Tap a type to see just those.
- POVText on screen
Pov: your camera has 24 megapixels
- Curiosity gapText on screen
Threw my Insta360 X6 🍻
- Bold claimText on screen
You don't need to edit your photos "with this camera"
- QuestionText on screen
"is bro taking a long exposure without a tripod?" 🤡
- CalloutText on screen
On Kickstarter now 👀
- CalloutText and spoken
This is the Sony RX 100 7.
- Curiosity gapText and spoken
Anyone interested in film photography is going to want to look at this.
- QuestionText and spoken
Can your tripod really do all of this?
- RelatableText on screen
The "same day payment rig"
- NegativeText on screen
“It’s just a filter.”
- Bold claimText on screen
"Fujifilm recipes are so overrated"
- NegativeText on screen
My biggest regret in going mirrorless ...
- Curiosity gapText on screen
THE POWER OF MULTI EXPOSURE With FujiFilm
- RelatableText and spoken
This once belonged to another photographer, and they took thousands of photos with it.
- CalloutText and spoken
Bring this camera to your next concert.
- AspirationalText on screen
my favorite digital cameras that i bring everywhere
How long should a camera gear hook be?
Short-ish. Hooks of 5 to 8 words reached 14 times followers for the middle reel, and both 1 to 4 words and 9 to 12 words reached 12. The middle hook is 9 words.
The long ones fell off. Past 20 words, the middle reel reached 8 times, and 14% of hooks run that long. Spoken product intros run long quickly: "This is the new Sony ZV E10 Mark II and it's perfect for vlogger, streamer and content creator." is 18 words.
Should you say the hook or show it?
Show it. 55% of viral camera gear reels put the hook on screen with no voice, and those travelled furthest.
The middle silent line reached 13 times its creator's followers. Spoken hooks and text read aloud both reached 9. Text read aloud is common here, on 21% of reels: the reviewer says the line while it sits on screen.
How do viral camera gear hooks start?
"This" opens 27 camera gear hooks, far ahead of "so" at 15 and "the" at 12. It's the reviewer's opener, as in "This is the Sony RX 100 7."
- this
- so
- the
- POV
- how
- I
- here's
- if
- what
- why
The first word of 260+ English hooks on viral camera gear reels, sized by how many start with it.
Four ways gear reviewers start, each a real hook:
This is… / This is how…
“This is the 7C lens filter and what it does is I guess you just have to see it.”
How to… / How I…
“How I run two cameras using only one stand”
You… / Your…
“You don't need the latest and greatest camera to have fun with photography.”
Stop… / Don't… / Never…
“Don't use T markers with carabiner. Use this instead.”
Keep reading
The hook is the first line of a longer reel. How to go viral in the camera gear niche has the formats, faces and sound. Photographers can compare the best hooks for travel photography reels, hooks for wedding photography reels and hooks for video production business reels.
Questions people ask
What's a good hook for a camera review reel?
Relatable lines went furthest on viral camera gear reels in Aubrium's library, 30 times their creator's followers for the middle one. Curiosity gaps are the most common, at 18%.
Should a camera review start with "This is"?
Plenty do. "This" is the most common first word on camera gear hooks: it opens 27 of the 260+ English hooks we read, well ahead of "so" at 15.
How long should a camera gear hook be?
The middle hook on a viral camera gear reel is 9 words. Past 20 words, the middle reel reached 8 times its creator's followers, against 14 for hooks of 5 to 8 words.
Do gear reviewers need to talk in the hook?
No. 55% of viral camera gear reels open on text with no voice, and those reached 13 times followers in the middle, against 9 for a spoken hook.
Do camera gear reels need a hook?
Most have one. Only 15% of viral camera gear reels have no hook of any type, and the middle one of those reached 13 times its creator's followers.
How we did this
We looked at every camera gear reel in Aubrium's library on 31 October 2026: 600+ reels from 500+ creators with 1,000 to 100,000 followers, each of which reached far more people than its creator has followers. We counted every reel filed in Aubrium's camera gear niche; a reel can sit in more than one niche.
Hook types, delivery and on-screen text are labels Aubrium's reader puts on every post. Hook length and first words count the 260+ reels with an English hook in words. Every number here describes reels that already went viral, so none of it is the odds for a new one.
Changelog
- First version.
Read next
Niches5 min readThe best hooks for fitness reels, from 16,000+ that went viralWe read the opening line of every viral fitness reel in Aubrium's library: which hooks show up most, which travelled furthest, and 16 real ones to learn from.
Niches6 min readThe best hooks for sketch comedy reels, from 5,600+ that went viralWe read the opening line of every viral sketch comedy reel in Aubrium's library: which hooks show up most, which travelled furthest, and 16 real ones to learn from.
Niches6 min readThe best hooks for real estate reels, from 5,100+ that went viralWe read the opening line of every viral real estate reel in Aubrium's library: which hooks show up most, which travelled furthest, and 16 real ones to learn from.