Yes, you are wrong. Obviously if the data could not be read it would serve no function and wouldn't be there.

Try this:

http://owl.phy.queensu.ca/~phil/exiftool/

Very useful for sanitising metadata as I recall

You might also look at the latest version of xnView.

There is nothing magical about FlashPixReady thumbnails. Their original purpose is to permit reasonable quality previews on larger screens.

Basically the old Exif file was restricted to 64KB which is a single APP1 segment, whereas FPXR lets you use multiple APP2 segments depending on the whim of your equipment manufacturer.