diff --git a/src/libcamera/include/pipeline_handler.h b/src/libcamera/include/pipeline_handler.h
index 1fdef9ce..42b90a4b 100644
--- a/src/libcamera/include/pipeline_handler.h
+++ b/src/libcamera/include/pipeline_handler.h
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 #include <string>
 #include <vector>
 
+#include <ipa/ipa_interface.h>
 #include <libcamera/controls.h>
 #include <libcamera/stream.h>
 
@@ -43,6 +44,7 @@ public:
 	PipelineHandler *pipe_;
 	std::list<Request *> queuedRequests_;
 	ControlInfoMap controlInfo_;
+	std::unique_ptr<IPAInterface> ipa_;
 
 private:
 	CameraData(const CameraData &) = delete;
diff --git a/src/libcamera/pipeline/vimc.cpp b/src/libcamera/pipeline/vimc.cpp
index 26477dcc..f1cfd0ed 100644
--- a/src/libcamera/pipeline/vimc.cpp
+++ b/src/libcamera/pipeline/vimc.cpp
@@ -101,8 +101,6 @@ private:
 		return static_cast<VimcCameraData *>(
 			PipelineHandler::cameraData(camera));
 	}
-
-	std::unique_ptr<IPAInterface> ipa_;
 };
 
 VimcCameraConfiguration::VimcCameraConfiguration()
@@ -353,13 +351,13 @@ bool PipelineHandlerVimc::match(DeviceEnumerator *enumerator)
 	if (!media)
 		return false;
 
-	ipa_ = IPAManager::instance()->createIPA(this, 0, 0);
-	if (ipa_ == nullptr)
+	std::unique_ptr<VimcCameraData> data = utils::make_unique<VimcCameraData>(this);
+
+	data->ipa_ = IPAManager::instance()->createIPA(this, 0, 0);
+	if (data->ipa_ == nullptr)
 		LOG(VIMC, Warning) << "no matching IPA found";
 	else
-		ipa_->init();
-
-	std::unique_ptr<VimcCameraData> data = utils::make_unique<VimcCameraData>(this);
+		data->ipa_->init();
 
 	/* Locate and open the capture video node. */
 	if (data->init(media))
diff --git a/src/libcamera/pipeline_handler.cpp b/src/libcamera/pipeline_handler.cpp
index 3e54aa23..cb4337e5 100644
--- a/src/libcamera/pipeline_handler.cpp
+++ b/src/libcamera/pipeline_handler.cpp
@@ -96,6 +96,14 @@ LOG_DEFINE_CATEGORY(Pipeline)
  * creating the camera, and shall not be modified afterwards.
  */
 
+/**
+ * \var CameraData::ipa_
+ * \brief The IPA module used by the camera
+ *
+ * Reference to the Image Processing Algorithms (IPA) operating on the camera's
+ * stream(s). If no IPA exists for the camera, this field is set to nullptr.
+ */
+
 /**
  * \class PipelineHandler
  * \brief Create and manage cameras based on a set of media devices