To provide a zoom lens which simultaneously achieves a higher aperture ratio, a higher magnification, a smaller size, and satisfactory correction of various aberration arising in light from visible light region to a near-infrared light region.

This zoom lens includes, in order from an object side, a first lens group G11 having negative refractive power and a second lens group G12 having positive refractive power. A cemented lens composed of a positive lens L121 and a negative lens L122 and having positive refractive power as a whole is disposed in the side closest to the object in the second lens group G12. This cemented lens makes it possible to obtain a high color aberration correcting effect (the correction of a color aberration arising in light from the visible light region to the near-infrared light region and the suppression of a frame aberration on the shortwave upper light beam side), compared to a single lens that obtains only a color aberration correcting effect dependent on the dispersion characteristics of glass itself.