(Credit: René Ramos, Jim Fisher; photka/Shutterstock.com)
Whether you shop for digital cameras in stores or read related coverage online, you've undoubtedly encountered CIPA ratings. But what do they mean, and what the heck is CIPA anyway?
A web search might not get you the answers immediately since the acronym has more than one meaning. In this case, we're talking about the Camera & Imaging Products Association, an organization that drafts camera standards and tracks sales data. Its monthly reports are good indicators of how the camera market is doing by region, and you can explore its online archive going back a full 25 years to see how the market has shifted over time.
CIPA is based in Japan, which makes sense, as that's the home country of the most popular photo brands. Members include Canon, Fujifilm, Kenko Tokina, Nikon, OM Digital, Panasonic, Ricoh Imaging, Sigma, Sony, and Tamron. That's basically every major manufacturer of cameras and lenses with operations based in Japan.
What Standards Does CIPA Set?
In addition to tracking sales data, CIPA sets several standards for digital cameras. They include basic frameworks like the format for the Exif metadata that's embedded into photos to show exposure, location, and other information; transfer protocols for cameras that include a network interface; and sensitivity ratings so that ISO settings are consistent across brands.
For our camera reviews, we typically highlight the CIPA battery life test for stills and its stabilization ratings. These are the figures enthusiasts tend to discuss in forums and the most relevant for day-to-day imaging. Both are good reference points but not always indicative of real-world results since they require context. For instance, battery life largely depends on your usage style, while the effectiveness of stabilization hinges on how steadily you can hold a camera. Let's unpack them.
How to Interpret CIPA Battery Ratings
The CIPA battery test goes all the way back to 2003, so it's been around for the bulk of the digital era. It predates most DSLRs in addition to select advances in technology, such as high-speed burst rates and video recording.
The testing methodology is a little dated, but it's still the one every big-name company uses. Testing engineers turn a camera on, wait for 30 seconds, take a photo, wait another thirty seconds, take a photo, and so on. They shut the camera down after every 10 photos, and then restart it. If a camera has a built-in flash, they use it for every other photo. And if the camera has a built-in zoom lens, they zoom from the wide to telephoto setting (or vice versa) before every picture.
That's not how most people use their cameras, especially not today, which is why we take CIPA numbers with a grain of salt. Most enthusiast models have dropped the built-in flash and support 10fps drive at a minimum. Video recording is more widespread than it was 20 years ago, too.
All of this is to say that you might get drastically more photos than a typical 400 photos-per-charge CIPA rating implies. Again, it depends on how you use your camera. On one hand, it's easy to get thousands of exposures if you use high-speed drive exclusively. On the other hand, if you tend to look through the viewfinder without taking photos, record video, or enable Wi-Fi features, you might need to recharge more often than you expect. Viewfinder use is something that quickly runs down the battery of newer mirrorless cameras. But if you're using a model with an optical viewfinder, the camera won't lose much charge when you're not taking pictures or just using the rear display. Note too that you will see slightly different battery figures for using the electronic viewfinder (EVF) and back panel display since the former tends to be more power-hungry.
There's no doubt that the CIPA test could use an update to better match the capabilities of today's cameras, but for now, it's the industry standard. You can still use it to gauge the respective battery life of several cameras if you look at it as a relative figure rather than an absolute one. If you typically get 1,000 pictures with a 500-shot CIPA camera, you can expect to get 1,200 from one with a 600-shot rating, for instance.
We continue to list CIPA battery ratings in our camera reviews but always try to put them in context. As a rule of thumb, if you see a camera with a 300-shot rating, you should pick up a spare battery for extended photo outings. Cameras that deliver 600 photos per charge are good for a full day in most instances, though you might still need a spare if you tend to mix in a lot of video, spend time reviewing photos in the field, or lean heavily on wireless features.
How to Understand the CIPA Stabilization Test
The CIPA testing methodology for in-camera and optical stabilization is more modern than its battery test but, even so, it's now 10 years old. The test involves placing a camera on a vibrating table and tasking it with taking pictures of a test chart from a set distance of 20 times the focal length. For a 50mm lens, this works out to 1,000mm, or around 40 inches.
The test starts at a 1/focal length shutter speed, so 1/50-second for a 50mm lens. Testing engineers take a minimum of 10 exposures and then double the shutter duration (1/25-second in this example). Then, they take another 10 photos, and so on. After that, they analyze the results in software to measure the amount of edge blur.
Once they collect and analyze the data against a reference target showing an acceptable amount of blur, the lens or camera in question earns a stabilization rating. For each step in shutter speed change, it's awarded a stop of compensation. As an example, a 50mm lens that produces acceptable results at 1/3-second would earn a 4.0-stop compensation rating.
The test is scientifically sound and generally a good indicator of system performance. In our camera and lens reviews, we test a bit differently. We shoot printed text at a close distance from a seated position with the same progression of shutter speeds and multiple samples for each. Cameras and lenses score a little higher on the CIPA test than our in-house one, but it's not typically a dramatic difference.
More on Camera Testing
For more on our independent camera and lens evaluations, read up on our testing process. And if you're shopping for a new camera, check out our list of the best digital cameras.