Abstract: It is an object to provide a zoom lens made of three groups having a zoom ratio of ×2.5 to ×3.2 if the object distance is ?, an field angle at the wide-angle end of 60° to 70°, high resolution, and a short optical total length when not in use. The zoom lens is made of a first lens group (G1) with a negative power, a second lens group (G2) with a positive power, and a third lens group (G3) with a positive power, arranged in that order from an object side to an image plane (S) side. The first lens group (G1) is made of a first lens (L1) that is a negative meniscus lens whose surface with strong curvature is facing the image plane (S) side and a second lens (L2) that is a positive meniscus lens whose surface with strong curvature is facing the object side, arranged in that order from the object side.