This invention provides an imaging lens system including, in order from an object side to an image side: a first lens group with negative refractive power comprising a single first lens element with negative refractive power; a second lens group with positive refractive power comprising, in order from the object side to the image side: a second lens element with positive refractive power; a third lens element with negative refractive power; an aperture stop; and a fourth lens element with negative refractive power; and a third lens group with positive refractive power comprising a single fifth lens element with positive refractive power; wherein by moving the first lens group and the second lens group along the optical axis while keeping the third lens group stationary, the zooming operation is performed such that the system switches between a wide-angle mode and a telephoto mode.