| CPC H04N 23/55 (2023.01) [G02B 7/021 (2013.01); G02B 13/18 (2013.01); G02B 15/20 (2013.01); G03B 17/14 (2013.01)] | 8 Claims |

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1. An imaging optical system, comprising:
a lens group Gm having negative power and including
a lens element LGmF1 having a strongest negative power among lens elements located on an object side with respect to an aperture diaphragm, and
a lens element LGmF2 adjacent to an image side of the lens element LGmF1 and having a negative power, both surfaces of the lens element LGmF2 each having an aspherical shape;
a lens group Gf located on the image side of the lens group Gm, moving in an optical axis direction during focusing from an infinity focusing state to a proximity focusing state and having power; and
a lens element located on the image side of the lens group Gf,
wherein THGm_A is an air distance between the lens element LGmF1, which is a first lens element from the object side of the lens group Gm, and the lens element LGmF2, which is a second lens element from the object side of the lens group Gm, and THGm_B is an air distance between a lens element LGmR2, which is a second lens element from the image side of the lens group Gm, and a lens element LGmR3, which is a third lens element from the image side of the lens group Gm, and a condition (2) below is satisfied
0.5<THGm_A/THGm_B<1.5 . . . (2),
wherein a lens element of the lens group Gm which is farthest on the image side is adjacent to the object side of the aperture diaphragm, and
wherein R2_LGmF1 is a radius of curvature on the image side of the lens element LGmF1, and R1_LGmF2 is a radius of curvature on the object side of the lens element LGmF2, and a condition (14) below is satisfied
1<(R1_LGmF2+R2_LGmF1)/(R1_LGmF2−R2_LGmF1)<1.6 . . . (14).
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