A zoom lens includes at least two lens groups that move for zooming. An object-side lens group is formed of a lens component having negative refractive power and a meniscus shape and a second lens component having positive refractive power and a meniscus shape, which may be in that order from the object side. Each of these lens components may be formed of a single lens element. Lens elements of the lens components satisfy certain conditions related to the half-field angle at the wide-angle end and the Abbe numbers of the lens elements. The zoom lens may include a third lens group, which may be stationary, with a middle lens group that moves nearer the object-side lens group and farther from the third lens group during zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end. At least one surface of a lens component may be an aspheric surface.