diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index e1fc74e..3d34706 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -7,23 +7,16 @@ set(CMAKE_AUTOMOC ON)
 include(GNUInstallDirs)
 
 find_package(Qt6 REQUIRED COMPONENTS Widgets LinguistTools)
-include(FetchContent)
-# Build exiv2lib as a static library so it is linked into the executable
-set(BUILD_SHARED_LIBS OFF CACHE INTERNAL "")
-set(EXIV2_BUILD_SAMPLES OFF CACHE INTERNAL "")
-set(EXIV2_BUILD_EXIV2_COMMAND OFF CACHE INTERNAL "")
-set(EXIV2_BUILD_UNIT_TESTS OFF CACHE INTERNAL "")
-set(EXIV2_BUILD_DOC OFF CACHE INTERNAL "")
-set(EXIV2_ENABLE_INIH OFF CACHE INTERNAL "")
-FetchContent_Declare(
-    exiv2
-    GIT_REPOSITORY https://github.com/Exiv2/exiv2.git
-    GIT_TAG v0.28.8
-)
-FetchContent_MakeAvailable(exiv2)
 
-# Exiv2 0.28.8 generates this header in the build root but doesn't add it to include paths
-target_include_directories(exiv2lib INTERFACE $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}>)
+# Use the system-provided exiv2 (both 0.27 and 0.28 are supported)
+find_package(exiv2 REQUIRED CONFIG)
+
+# 0.28 exports Exiv2::exiv2lib; 0.27 configs may export the unnamespaced target
+if(TARGET Exiv2::exiv2lib)
+    set(EXIV2_TARGET Exiv2::exiv2lib)
+else()
+    set(EXIV2_TARGET exiv2lib)
+endif()
 
 qt_add_executable(SagoImageBrowser
     src/main.cpp
@@ -53,11 +46,11 @@ qt_add_executable(SagoImageBrowser
 set_source_files_properties(extra/icons/sago_image_browser.svg PROPERTIES QT_RESOURCE_ALIAS sago_image_browser.svg)
 qt_add_resources(SagoImageBrowser "icons" PREFIX "/icons" FILES extra/icons/sago_image_browser.svg)
 
-target_link_libraries(SagoImageBrowser PRIVATE Qt6::Widgets exiv2lib)
+target_link_libraries(SagoImageBrowser PRIVATE Qt6::Widgets ${EXIV2_TARGET})
 
 add_executable(test_exifreader test/test_exifreader.cpp src/exifreader.cpp)
 target_include_directories(test_exifreader PRIVATE ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/src)
-target_link_libraries(test_exifreader PRIVATE Qt6::Widgets exiv2lib)
+target_link_libraries(test_exifreader PRIVATE Qt6::Widgets ${EXIV2_TARGET})
 
 qt_add_translations(SagoImageBrowser
     TS_FILES translations/da.ts
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 280acd9..96e4578 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -25,21 +25,20 @@ A Qt6-based image browser application for viewing and managing image collections
 - C++17 or later
 - CMake 3.21+
 - Qt6 (Widgets and LinguistTools components)
-- Git and a network connection — Exiv2 (v0.28.8) is fetched and statically linked
-  at configure time via CMake `FetchContent`
+- Exiv2 development files (0.27 or 0.28) installed on the system, e.g. `libexiv2-dev`
 
 ## Building
 
 ### Prerequisites
 
-Install Qt6 development files:
+Install the Qt6 and Exiv2 development files:
 
 ```bash
 # On Ubuntu/Debian
-sudo apt-get install qt6-base-dev qt6-tools-dev
+sudo apt-get install qt6-base-dev qt6-tools-dev libexiv2-dev
 
 # On macOS with Homebrew
-brew install qt6
+brew install qt6 exiv2
 ```
 
 ### Build Steps
diff --git a/extra/docker/Dockerfile b/extra/docker/Dockerfile
index 9c24b31..d3579f3 100644
--- a/extra/docker/Dockerfile
+++ b/extra/docker/Dockerfile
@@ -7,8 +7,6 @@ RUN ln -snf /usr/share/zoneinfo/$TZ /etc/localtime && echo $TZ > /etc/timezone
 RUN apt-get update && apt-get install --no-install-recommends -y \
     build-essential \
     cmake \
-    git \
-    ca-certificates \
     pkg-config \
     qt6-base-dev \
     qt6-tools-dev \
@@ -16,9 +14,7 @@ RUN apt-get update && apt-get install --no-install-recommends -y \
     libqt6core6 \
     libqt6gui6 \
     libqt6widgets6 \
-    zlib1g-dev \
-    libexpat1-dev \
-    libbrotli-dev \
+    libexiv2-dev \
     && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
 RUN mkdir -p /staging/sago_image_browser
diff --git a/src/exifreader.cpp b/src/exifreader.cpp
index dad65b3..085f678 100644
--- a/src/exifreader.cpp
+++ b/src/exifreader.cpp
@@ -32,6 +32,13 @@ SOFTWARE.
 
 #include <exiv2/exiv2.hpp>
 
+// exiv2 0.28 returns a std::unique_ptr (Image::UniquePtr); 0.27 uses Image::AutoPtr
+#if EXIV2_VERSION >= EXIV2_MAKE_VERSION(0,28,0)
+using Exiv2ImagePtr = Exiv2::Image::UniquePtr;
+#else
+using Exiv2ImagePtr = Exiv2::Image::AutoPtr;
+#endif
+
 #include <sys/stat.h>
 #include <fcntl.h>
 #include <filesystem>
@@ -189,8 +196,7 @@ ExifData ExifReader::read(const QByteArray &path)
 
     // EXIF tags via exiv2
     try {
-        std::unique_ptr<Exiv2::Image> image =
-            Exiv2::ImageFactory::open(path.toStdString());
+        Exiv2ImagePtr image = Exiv2::ImageFactory::open(path.toStdString());
         image->readMetadata();
         const Exiv2::ExifData &exif = image->exifData();
 
@@ -246,8 +252,7 @@ bool ExifReader::saveCaption(const QByteArray &path,
                              const ExifData   &oldData)
 {
     try {
-        std::unique_ptr<Exiv2::Image> image =
-            Exiv2::ImageFactory::open(path.toStdString());
+        Exiv2ImagePtr image = Exiv2::ImageFactory::open(path.toStdString());
         image->readMetadata();
 
         // Erase all existing Caption-Abstract entries then add the new one
@@ -279,15 +284,18 @@ bool ExifReader::saveCaption(const QByteArray &path,
 bool ExifReader::rotate(const QByteArray &path, bool clockwise)
 {
     try {
-        std::unique_ptr<Exiv2::Image> image =
-            Exiv2::ImageFactory::open(path.toStdString());
+        Exiv2ImagePtr image = Exiv2::ImageFactory::open(path.toStdString());
         image->readMetadata();
         Exiv2::ExifData &exif = image->exifData();
 
         int current = 1; // EXIF default when the tag is absent
         auto it = exif.findKey(Exiv2::ExifKey("Exif.Image.Orientation"));
         if (it != exif.end())
+#if EXIV2_VERSION >= EXIV2_MAKE_VERSION(0,28,0)
             current = static_cast<int>(it->toInt64());
+#else
+            current = static_cast<int>(it->toLong());
+#endif
 
         const int updated = clockwise ? orientationRotatedClockwise(current)
                                       : orientationRotatedCounterClockwise(current);