Abstract: A plastic zoom lens has a first group of lenses having negative refracting power and arranged on an object side of the zoom lens; a second group of lenses having positive refracting power and arranged on an image side of the zoom lens; and a device for changing a focal length of the plastic zoom lens by changing a distance between the first and second groups of lenses. The first group of lenses have a first lens group composed of a negative plastic lens having a large curvature face on the image side thereof and at least one aspherical surface and a positive plastic lens having a large curvature face on the object side thereof. The negative and positive plastic lenses are sequentially arranged from the object side of the zoom lens. The first group of lenses further have at least one negative lens arranged on the object side of the first lens group.

Abstract: A zoom lens includes, in order from an object, a first lens unit having positive refracting power, a second lens unit having negative refracting power, and a third lens unit having positive refracting power. The second lens unit has a paraxial lateral magnification greater than 1 at all times. The third lens unit is fixed. The distance between the first and second lens units and the distance between the second and third lens units are relatively varied to vary the focal length of the entire lens system.

Abstract: An ultra compact zoom lens system includes: a first lens unit having a positive refracting power and including a positive lens, a negative lens and a cemented lens comprised of a negative lens and a positive lens; a second lens unit having a negative refracting power and including a positive lens and a negative lens; and a third lens unit having a positive refractive power and including a positive lens. The second lens unit has a paraxial lateral magification which is always larger than unity and the third lens unit is fixed in position. And, the focal distance of the entire system is varied by varying a spacing between the first and second lens units and a spacing between the second and third lens units relative to each other.

Abstract: A zoom lens has at least a first group lens and a second group lens which are spaced a greater distance from each other in one of telephoto setting and wide angle setting than the other setting, and a mechanism for moving the first group lens from said one setting toward an image formation plane.

Abstract: A compact zoom finder suitable for compact cameras, video cameras and the like whose zoom ratio is about 2. While the zoom lens is composed of three units having positive, negative and positive refracting powers in order from an object side, the third unit is preferably composed of an ante-component having a negative refracting power and a post-component having a positive refracting power. In this case, an arrangement is made so that one surface in the ante-component of the third unit comprises a half mirror, and one surface in the post-component is provided with a frame to thereby provide for an albada finder.

Abstract: A zoom lens for a color video camera in which zoom ratio is 6 and F number is approximately 1.4. The zoom lens comprises a positive first group for focusing, a negative second unit for zooming, a negative third unit which is a compensator, a positive fourth unit for forming an incident divergent bundle of rays into a parallel or converging bundle of rays, and a fifth unit in the form of a relay lens composed of a front component and a rear component. Parameters, especially such as a refracting power of the first unit and second unit, are suitably selected whereby a zoom lens which is compact and which aberrations are well compensated is obtained.