Pierre asked for some instructions for user on how to upgrade their Exiftool, so I thought I would post this here.
These instructions are for versions of XnViewMP 1.9.5 or higher. With v1.9.5, XnViewMP finally ships with a modern version of ExifTool. If you are running an older version of XnViewMP, upgrading to 1.9.5 will give you a lot of new features, as well as improve the performance of ExifTool.
If you want to continue running an older build of XnViewMP, you can still run a modern build of ExifTool that is considerably faster.
Even if you are running the current version of XnViewMP, there may be a more recent update of ExifTool that fixes bugs or better supports your camera. You can use these instructions to help you upgrade ExifTool.
INSTALLING OR UPDATING EXIFTOOL
ExifTool is a utility for accessing metadata in your image files.
XnViewMP comes bundled with ExifTool, but you may wish to install a new or updated version to work with XnViewMP. To do that, simply follow the steps below:
0. Before getting started, ensure XnViewMP is not running.
1. First, download the latest version of ExifTool from https://exiftool.org/
There are 64-bit and 32-bit Windows versions, a version for MacOS, and a Linux version. Get the version appropriate for your operating system. These instructions will focus on the Windows version.
2. Once you have downloaded the ZIP file to your computer, open it by double-clicking on it. You will see a folder that looks something like exiftool-13.36_64.
Now you have a choice to make: You can replace the version of Exiftool that comes with XnViewMP, or you can install your new version of Exiftool to a different location. Follow the appropriate instructions below:
OPTION 1: To REPLACE the ExifTool that comes with XnViewMP:
3. Double-click on the exiftool folder in the ZIP file. Now you will see three items: a folder named "exiftool_files" and exiftool(-k).exe and README.TXT
4. In your file manager, navigate to the folder where you have XnViewMP installed. In this folder, you will see several subfolders, one of which is named AddOn. Double-click on the AddOn folder to open it.
5. You will see a file named exiftool.exe Delete that file, and delete a exiftool_files folder if you see one.
6. Drag the .exe file and the exiftool_files folder from the ZIP file into the AddOn folder where XnViewMP is installed. Once that is done, you can close the ZIP file; you don't need it any more and can delete it.
7. In the file manager, click on the exiftool(-k).exe file and rename it to exiftool.exe
8. Close the file manager. You're done.
The next time you run XnViewMP, it will use the updated version of ExifTool.
OPTION 2: Installing ExifTool to a new location.
3. From the ZIP file, drag the exiftool folder to the location on your computer you want ExifTool to be. You can then close the ZIP file, you don't need it anymore.
4. Now in your file manager, navigate to where you dropped the exiftool folder, and open the folder. You will see three items: a folder named "exiftool_files" and exiftool(-k).exe and README.TXT
5. In the file manager, click on the exiftool(-k).exe file and rename it to exiftool.exe
6. Now you can close the file manager window, and run XnViewMP.
7. In XnViewMP, go to the Tools menu, and select Settings.
8. In the settings screen, under Integration there is a item called Paths. Click it, and an option will appear for ExifTool path.
9. Click the ... button to the right of the option, and browse to the location where you placed the new ExifTool.exe file. Make sure you have the exiftool.exe file selected, and then click the Open button.
10. Back on the settings screen, you should see the ExifTool path set to the location where you placed the file.
11. Click OK to close the Settings dialog.
12. Exit XnViewMP. You're done.
The next time XnViewMP starts, it will use the new version of ExifTool you downloaded.