diff --git a/osxphotos/_version.py b/osxphotos/_version.py
index a9955b73..90e4236a 100644
--- a/osxphotos/_version.py
+++ b/osxphotos/_version.py
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 """ version info """
 
-__version__ = "0.40.11"
+__version__ = "0.40.12"
diff --git a/osxphotos/exiftool.py b/osxphotos/exiftool.py
index f86eb55d..b076e617 100644
--- a/osxphotos/exiftool.py
+++ b/osxphotos/exiftool.py
@@ -315,7 +315,13 @@ class ExifTool:
         if not json_str:
             return dict()
 
-        exifdict = json.loads(json_str)
+        try:
+            exifdict = json.loads(json_str)
+        except Exception as e:
+            # will fail with some commands, e.g --ext AVI which produces
+            # 'No file with specified extension' instead of json
+            return dict()
+
         exifdict = exifdict[0]
         if not tag_groups:
             # strip tag groups