EXIF Data on SLRs

This may have been asked before, but I didn't find it in a search.

Question: Why do (some) point-and-shooters record the "Focus Distance" in the Exif data, while my 20D doesn't? Is it because an SLR can't, or just that Canon doesn't on this camera. Occasionally I'd like to see what distance the camera (or, lens) focused at, but alas, no can do. Any thoughts?

Some lenses send the body this information, while others don't, I believe.

What Kevin said. There's a list you can find in the EOS flash bible, in the ETTL2 section, which is linked from the lighting forum sticky FAQ.

Thanks Kevin and Tim. I found the link, and saw that the 50mm f/1.4 does not have distance data capabilities, but my 70-200L f/4 should. Sounds like it's more the lens-camera combination.

Besides that business about the lenses, there is also the issue of EXIF compatibility. Different image editor programs read the EXIF information differently. Some are rather incomplete about it. Some programs read the information, but they display it in an untranslated form, which doesn't make any sense. I have three or four different programs here, and they all read EXIF differently. Go figure.

---Bob Gross---