Give Your Sony Xperia Z a Physical Camera Button

Give Your Sony Xperia Z a Physical Camera Button

A product decision that I never truly understood up to this day is the exclusion of a physical camera button on a modern day smartphone. The three powerhouses of 2013 so far, the Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One, and Xperia Z, all lack a dedicated camera button to the dismay of many users. However, if you own the Xperia Z, fear not because there is now a mod that will (hopefully) rid of this issue.

XDA Senior Member black97one has created a mod for the Xperia Z to allow for fast image capturing by holding down the volume down button while the phone is in standby mode. Additionally, when in quick launch camera mode, black97one has made capturing easier by removing the restriction of having to press both the volume up and down button to take a picture. Instead, users can capture images by pressing only the volume down button. Therefore in order to zoom in and out, black97one suggests doing so with the ubiquitous two finger pinch gesture.

Version 4 of the FastCapture mod will work with any ROM for the Xperia Z, and comes in a recovery-flashable package. Also, be sure to enable fast capture in the quick launch camera settings.  Black97one may also be developing a mod allowing for fast capture with the power button, but we can only wait and see.

So Xperia Z owners, will this add to the camera wow by allowing you to instantly capture an image without having to first wake up your device, or does this just seem to be a fading gimmick that future generations will eventually forget? I mean, some lock screens have slide-to-capture functionality that works towards the same goal, albeit in a different way. As for users of the other mobile devices with no dedicated camera button, what are you opinions?

For more information on the FastCapture Mod, visit the original thread.

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