Zoom lens and camera with the same

Abstract

The zoom lens is a retractable bent-type zoom lens capable of providing a high zoom ratio and a reduced thickness, and capable of retracting into a camera body with an easily-configured mechanism. The zoom lens includes in order from an object side to an image side, a first lens unit having a positive refractive power, a second lens unit having a negative refractive power, a prism including a reflective surface, and a posterior lens group which includes plural lens units and has as a whole a positive refractive power. The first and second lens units are retractable into a space formed by movement of the prism in a direction orthogonal to an optical axis of the first lens unit, and, during zooming, the second lens unit and the plural lens units in the posterior lens group are moved while the first lens unit and the prism are fixed.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to a zoom lens suitable for use in an image pickup optical system of a camera such as a digital still camera. Background technique [0002] As the performance of cameras (digital cameras) using solid-state image pickup elements increases, compact zoom lenses with high zoom ratios are required for image pickup optical systems. [0003] In order to reduce the size of the camera and increase the zoom ratio of the zoom lens, a so-called retractable zoom lens is widely used, in which the lens unit is set to be larger in the non-image pickup state than in the image pickup state. closer to each other in the picked state to be retracted into the camera body. [0004] Also, U.S. Patent No. 6,333,823 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-102090 disclose a curved zoom lens in which an optical element such as a prism including a reflective surface is used to bend its optical path by 90°, To reduce the thickness of the camera (herei...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

However, the optical system disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 7,426,085 in which the first lens unit disposed closest to the object moves in a large movable range during zooming is disadvantageous in such a mechanism , so that the optical system does not have a realistic configuration for achieving a reduction in camera thickness and an increase in zoom ratio

Images