Patent ID: 7116489
Filing Date: 2006-10-03
Classification: G02B

Abstract:
1. A zoom lens comprising a first lens group with positive refractive power, a second lens group with negative refractive power, a third lens group with positive refractive power, a fourth lens group with positive refractive power, and a fifth lens group including a negative subgroup with negative refractive power and a positive subgroup with positive refractive power, the first to fifth lens groups being arranged from the object side toward the image side in the order of the above description; wherein, when the state of lens positions changes from the state of the wide-angle end to the telephoto end state, (i) the first lens group is fixed with respect to a direction of an optical axis, (ii) the second lens group moves toward the image side, (iii) the third lens group is fixed with respect to the direction of the optical axis, (iv) the fourth lens group moves along the optical axis to compensate for the change of the position of the image surface caused by the movement of the second lens group, and (v) the fifth lens group is fixed with respect to the direction of the optical axis, the fourth lens group moving along the optical axis when the zoom lens is focused on an object at a short distance; wherein an aperture stop is disposed in the vicinity of the third lens group; wherein the lens surface of the negative subgroup of the fifth lens group on the image side and nearest to the image is concave, and the lens surface of the positive subgroup of the fifth lens group on the object side and nearest to the object is convex; wherein the positive subgroup shifts in a direction approximately perpendicular to the optical axis to shift an image; and wherein the zoom lens satisfies the condition defined by the inequality (1) below: where f 5p denotes the focal length of the positive subgroup of the fifth lens group, and f t denotes the focal length of the entire lens system in the telephoto end state.