PURPOSE: To improve operability and to maintain excellent performance from infinity to a short distance with a compact lens by performing the focusing operation by moving a negative lens group among specified lens groups having positive, negative lens positive refractive powers in order from the object side.

CONSTITUTION: This lens is composed, in order from the object side, of a first lens group G1 of a positive refractive power, a second lens group G2 of a negative refractive power and a third lens group G3 of a positive refractive power and the second lens group G2 is composed of a negative meniscus lens L3 whose concave surface confronts the object side and a negative meniscus lens L4 whose convex surface confronts the object side. Focusing is performed by moving the second lens group G2. These lens groups satisfy the following conditions: 0.7≤f1/f≤-1.2, 0.2≤f2/f≤0.8, 1≤D2/f≤0.4 and 0.05f≤1/2im≤0.4f, where f, f1, f2: the focal distances of a whole lens system, the first lens group G1 and the second lens group G2, respectively, D2: a distance between the second and the third lens groups at the time of focusing at infinity and 2im: the refractive power of the lens surface of the lens L4.