php can be compiled with either an internal or an external gd-lib The "exif" extensions relies on the gd-lib, it should be possible to use exif with both, internal and external gd-lib but all ebuilds show a dependancy only on the internal gd version. Thus it is not possible to build exif when using external gd-lib
Fixed with the new revisions of dev-lang/php that got into the tree today. Now you can build the exif extension using both gd or gd-external. Best regards, CHTEKK.
