To obtain a wide angle zoom lens which has a sufficiently large photographing angle of view at a wide angle end, has a variable power ratio exceeding two times and is well corrected of various aberrations by constituting the zoom lens so as to satisfy specific conditions.

This wide angle zoom lens has a first lens group G1 having negative refracting power, a second lens group G2 having positive refracting power and a third lens group G3 having positive refracting power. The one lens face of the lens faces constituting the first lens group G1 is formed to an aspherical shape. At the time of variable magnification from the wide angle end to the telephoto end, the first lens group G1 to the third lens group G3 move in such a manner that the air spacing between the first lens group G1 and the second lens group G2 decreases and the air spacing between the second lens group G2 and the third lens group G3 decreases. The conditions -1.2<f1/ft<-0.4, 0.5<f2/ft<0.35 are satisfied. In the equations, f1 denotes the focal length of the first lens group G1; f2 denotes the focal length of the second lens group G2 and further, ft denotes the focal length of the entire system at the telephoto end.