Review: Casio Exilim EX-MR1 Kawaii Selfie Mirror Camera

Last night at an event someone asked me why am I using CASIO camera? Well, this is such an open question, how should I start… I took a sip of my drink and told him because selfie is CASIO. Then I turned to the girl sitting next to me to reconfirm my statement. She brings out her CASIO, we took a selfie and showed it to the guy. I asked him, so what do you think? He looked at the camera screen and asked if he could try it.

I know some of you are eyeing and hoping to have a CASIO TR camera but some find it too expensive because it is about RM3K plus. Perhaps the MR1 could be an alternative for you. What is so good about CASIO camera? The major thing that girls love the most is selfie and not just ordinary selfie. Most of the selfie taken using CASIO are awesome and can share to my smartphone and upload straight away without any editing or filter needed. 

So let’s take a selfie and check out the MR1 kawaii selfie. Basically the MR1 comes with Makeup Mode which I have mentioned in my previous blog post and for more features information you can check out it out My First Kawaii Selfie Camera – CASIO EX-MR1 blog post.

Art Shot Mode ~ Crystal Ball

This time we are going to go into more details and compare the Skin Tone and Smooth Skin Level plus toying around with the Art Shot Mode. I know we girls rarely use the Art Shot Mode, hey once a while it is good to have variation. Why not change our photo to fisheye, crystal ball, pop color, toy camera or etc mode. There are 9 kinds of Art Shot available for taking artistic photo. Plus not forgetting the fun photo decoration like add stamp and frame and another thing to try is the blurred background effect

Skin Tone

Comparison of Skin Tone Level 0, Level 3 & Level 6

As you can see here are difference effects between skin tone Level 0, Level 3 and Level 6. Level 0 is not advisable because the skin tone is too dull and dark. However the Level 6 is too washed out or pale, slightly unnatural and can’t see any makeup clearly. So the best is to set it to Level 3 to 4 which I usually do that gives a more natural finishing. But If you like to have the super white then you can adjust to the max which is level 6.

Smooth Skin

Comparison of Smooth Skin Level 0, Level 6 and Level 12

To me the smooth skin effect is great for those who would like to camouflage their uneven skin, dark spot or wrinkles. As for me the Smooth Skin not only depends on the level but also the natural light. As you know lighting play an important part in photography any photos taken under natural sunlight. As you can see the Smooth Skin level changes from 0 to 12.

When in Level 0 I still can see the texture of my hair and the smile line, but when moved to Level 6 or 12 there is no more hairline, laugh line and etc, all smooth skin. I would recommend to set the smooth skin to Level 7 or 8 the max more than that is slightly dreamy or like in the wonderland.

Share Photo to Smartphone (Wi-Fi)

Hey! Same as TR the MR1 also equipped with easy connection through Wi-Fi, so sharing photos to smartphone is easy. All I need is to download the EXILIM Link app on my smartphone.

On the Camera Wi-Fi, connect and select the photo I want to transfer to my smartphone and then save it. Done! and now I can share the photos on with my friend or family on social network.

Overall the MR1 serves is purposes as a selfie camera and most important is affordable. What I love is the innovative Front Mirror is so cool and most of the time I use as my mirror. The lens positioning in the center inside of the camera (or behind the mirror surface) makes it easy to focus and position my eyes. If I use other camera my eyes will look weird sometimes either too up or too down but with this center positioning lens I just have to look straight.

I am a TR user also, so overall the selfie photos quality that I get from MR1 is acceptable and can be posted up without editing or if yes there will only be a minimal. The MR1 price is cheaper than TR, almost 1/3 price of TR only. It is suitable for a beginner or student who is eyeing at an affordable selfie camera with make-up mode. 

The build in Wi-Fi in this camera makes it easy to share photos to smartphone and upload it online fast.

However, there is no handle or stand like the TR so have to hold the camera while taking selfie and limited to our arm length only. Unless I attach the MR1 to a selfie stick or asked someone to take for me. The timer available is only 10s or 2s hopefully we could have more timer options. There is no motion control or wireless remote feature.

For more information about Casio Exilim EX-MR1 Kawaii Selfie Mirror Camera, please visit www.casio-intl.com/asia-mea/en/dc/ex_mr1