To provide a zoom lens which can perform high variable power zooming from a wide angle of field and is small-sized and bright and has excellent lens performance at the time of short range photographing.

The zoom lens consists of five groups of positive, negative, positive, positive, and positive groups. When the power is varied from a wide angle end to a telephoto end, first to fifth lens groups G1 to G5 are individually operated, so that the first lens group G1 and the third lens group G3 are moved toward the object side to make the interval between the first and second lens groups G1 and G2 larger and make the interval between the second and third lens groups G2 and G3 smaller in accordance with power varying from the wide angle end to the telephoto end. The fourth lens group G4 takes charge of keeping characteristics of the image surface at the time of power varying and functions as a variable power group to reduce the extent of movement of the first lens group G1. The fourth lens group G4 and the fifth lens group G5 are integrally moved to focus the zoom lens on a finite distance object.