Compact Zoom Lens System

This invention relates to a compact zoom lens system having a zoom ratio of about 1.7 and so lending itself well fit for lens shutter cameras, etc., and more particularly to a zoom lens system comprising three units, say, positive, positive and negative units.

In recent years, zoom lenses smaller in size and lighter in weight have been increasingly demanded to keep pace with lens shutter cameras having a more increased zooming function. A size reduction of zoom lenses for recent lens shutter cameras is tantamount to decreasing mainly the axial length of the lens system (the length from the first surface of the lens system to the film plane). In most cases, this is now achieved by retracting the barrel into the body of a camera when it is kept. However, it is then required to use some barrel-retracting mechanism, which sets limits to the size reduction of a camera body; in other words, the size reduction of a camera should be achieved by reducing the diameters of the lenses or making the optical system short.

So far, some three-unit zoom lenses have been proposed, which comprise a first lens unit having a positive focal length, a second lens unit having a positive focal length and a third lens unit having a negative focal length. Among them, zoom lenses having a zoom ratio of about 1.5 are disclosed in Japanese Provisional Patent Publications Nos. Sho. 60-263113, 61-52620 and 61-109012 and those having a zoom ratio of about 2.0 are set forth in Japanese Provisional Patent Publication No. Hei. 1-93713. These are all made compact in the axial direction while maintaining the power of each unit properly, but they are not in the diametrical direction of the lenses, because the diameter of the image-side lens is increased due to their short back focus. In addition, their short back focus gives rise to a reduction in their distance from the final surface of the lens system to the film plane; flaring is much likely to occur because the light reflected off the image plane is again reflected from the final surface.

In view of such situations, it is an object of this invention to provide a compact zoom lens system having a zoom ratio of the order of 1.7, which provides a solution to the above problems associated with the prior art, i.e., an increase in the diameter of the image-side lens which is caused by a short back focus and a fair possibility of flaring.

According to this invention, the above object is achieved by providing a compact zoom lens system comprising, in order from the object side, a first lens unit having a positive focal length, a second lens unit having a positive focal length and a third lens unit having a negative focal length, said first, second and third lens units being all movable toward the object side during zooming from the wide angle to telephoto side such that the first and second lens units are spaced away from each other, while the second and third lens units are moved toward each other, characterized in that it satisfies the following conditional formula:

and

Here f.sub.W is the focal length of the total system at the wide angle end, .beta..sub.3W is the image-formation magnification of the third lens unit at the wide angle end, and f.sub.2 and f.sub.3 are the focal lengths of the second and third lens units, respectively.

In this case, the first and third lens units may be movable together.

More preferably, the following conditional formula should be satisfied:

Here L.sub.23W is the distance at the wide angle end from the surface of the second lens unit proximate to the object to the surface of the third lens unit proximate to the image plane and IH is the maximum value of an image height.

In one embodiment of the zoom lens system of this invention, the first lens unit may comprise a positive meniscus lens convex on the object side; the second lens unit a stop, a negative meniscus lens concave on the object side and a positive lens; and the third lens unit a negative lens.

In this embodiment, it is further desired that the following conditional formula be satisfied:

and

Here f.sub.1 is the focal length of the first lens unit and .nu..sub.d1 is the Abbe's number of the lens of the first lens unit.

Another embodiment of this invention is directed to a zoom lens system which includes, in order from the object side, a first lens unit comprising a single positive lens component, a second lens unit comprising one negative lens component and one positive lens component and having a positive refractive power as a whole and a third lens unit comprising a single negative lens component, said lens units being all movable toward the object side along the optical axis during zooming such that the first and second lens units are spaced away from each other while the second and third lens units are moved toward each other, whereby the focal length is varied from the wide angle to telephoto side.

Reference will now be made to what is implied by the above conditions.

Conditional Formula (1) defines the back focus at the wide angle end. Above the upper limit, the image-formation magnification .beta..sub.3W of the 3rd unit G3 increases simultaneously with too large a decrease in the composite focal length of the 1st and 2nd units G1 and G2, making compensation of aberrations, esp., coma difficult. Below the lower limit, on the other hand, the back focus becomes too short to make the lens system compact, because there is an increase in the lens diameter on the image side.

Conditional Formula (2) defines the focal length of the second unit G2. Exceeding the upper limit renders compensation of chromatic aberration difficult, whereas falling short of the lower limit makes compensation of various aberrations, esp., spherical aberration difficult.

According to this invention, the 1st and 3rd units G1 and G3 are designed to be movable together during zooming, thereby simplifying the structure of the barrel and making the camera compact.

In order to make the system compact, it is desired to conform to the following conditional formula:

where L.sub.23W is the distance in wide angle configuration from the surface of the 2nd unit proximate to the object to the surface of the 3rd unit proximate to the image plane and IH is the distance half the diagonal length of the frame (that equals the maximum value of an image height). Above the upper limit of Conditional Formula (3), the total length of the 2nd and 3rd units G2 and G3 becomes too long to make the system compact. Below the lower limit, on the other hand, compensation of aberrations, esp., distortion and coma is rendered difficult.

In view of compensation of aberrations and making the system compact, the zoom lens system of this invention should preferably include, from the object side, a first unit comprising one positive meniscus lens convex on the object side, a second unit comprising, from the object side, a stop and two lenses, say, one negative meniscus lens concave on the object side and one positive lens, and a third unit comprising one negative lens, said second and third units each including one aspherical surface. Thus, the total length of the lens system can be reduced by constructing it with four lenses in all; some extension of the back focus can be compensated for, thereby allowing the lens system to be in a compact form.

When the lens system is constructed with four lenses, it should desirously conform to the following conditional formula:

and

Here f.sub.W is the focal length of the total system in wide angle configuration, f.sub.1 is the focal length of the first unit and .nu..sub.d1 is the Abbe's number of the first unit with respect to the d-line. Above the upper limit of Conditional Formula (4), difficulty is involved in compensating for various aberrations, esp., coma, whereas below the lower limit, difficulty is experienced in compensating for chromatic aberration. Below the lower limit of conditional Formula (5), on the other hand, difficulty is encountered in compensating for chromatic aberration.

Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.

The present invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

FIG. 1 represents lenses in section according to Examples 1 and 3-6, FIG. 1a and 1b being sectional views at the wide angle and telephoto ends,

FIG. 2 represents lenses in section according to Example 2, as is the case with FIG. 1, and

FIGS. 3-8 inclusive are aberration curves of Examples 1-6, (a), (b) and (c) showing those at the wide angle end, in the standard configuration and at the telephoto end, respectively.

In the ensuing description, Examples 1-6 according to this invention will be explained. Lenses according to Examples 1 and 3-6 at the wide angle (a) and telephoto (b) ends are shown in section in FIG. 1, and lenses according to Example 1 at the wide angle (a) and telephoto (b) ends are shown in section in FIG. 2. Note that the lens data of each example will be given later. In each example, the first unit G1 comprises one positive meniscus lens concave on the object side and the second unit G2 comprises, from the object side, a negative meniscus lens concave on the object side and a positive lens, two in all, as disclosed. A stop is located just before the second unit and movable together with the second unit. The third unit G3 comprises one negative meniscus lens concave on the object side in Example 2 and one double-concave lens in other examples.

Referring to aspheric configuration, two aspherical surfaces are applied to the surface of the second unit proximate to the image plane and to the surface of the third unit proximate to the object side throughout the examples.

Aberration curves of Examples 1-6 (a) at the wide angle end, (b) in the standard configuration and (c) at the telephoto end are shown in FIGS. 3-8.

In the ensuing pages, the lens data of Examples 1-6 will be given. It is noted that reference letters used hereinafter but not hereinbefore are: f is the focal length of the total system, F.sub.NO the F-number, 2.OMEGA. the field angle, f.sub.B the back focus, r1, r.sub.2, . . . the radii of curvature of the respective lens surfaces, d.sub.1, d.sub.2, . . . the separations between the respective lens surfaces, n.sub.d1, n.sub.d2, . . . the refractive indices of the respective lenses with respect to the d-lines, and .nu..sub.d1, .nu..sub.d2, . . . the Abbe's numbers of the respective lenses. Now let x and y denote the axial direction and the direction normal thereto, respectively. Then, the spherical configuration is represented by

Here r is the paraxial radius of curvature, P is the conical coefficient and A.sub.4, A.sub.6 and A.sub.8 are the aspherical coefficients.

Set out below are the value corresponding to the conditions (1) to (5) in Examples 1-6.

As set forth above and as can be seen from the examples and the corresponding sectional views, the compact zoom lens system of this invention can be made compact in the lenses' diametrical direction. By extending the back focus, this zoom lens system allows the barrel of an optical system to be easily retracted into the body of a camera when it is kept and can be made compact in the axial direction as well. Thus, the present zoom lens is well suited for a compact camera.