US Patent 7283314 Zoom lens and image pickup apparatus including the same

At least one exemplary embodiment is directed to a zoom lens which includes, in order from an object side to an image side, a first lens unit with a negative refractive power, a second lens unit with a positive refractive power, and a third lens unit with a positive refractive power. A first gap between the first and second lens units when the zoom lens is at a wide-angle end is smaller than the first gap when the zoom lens is at a telephoto end, where a second gap between the second and third lens units when the zoom lens is at the wide-angle end is larger than the second gap when the zoom lens is at the telephoto end. The second lens unit includes at least one positive cemented lens.