The invention relates to a device for optical distance measurement, especially a handheld device, comprising an emission branch (14) which defines an emission channel and comprises an emission unit (22,24) for emitting modulated optical radiation (36) in the direction of a target object (20), a receiving branch (18) defining a receiving channel (44) and comprising at least one receiving device (54), a reference branch (15) defining a reference section (40), and switching means (38) for diverting the measuring signal (36) between the emission branch (14) and the reference branch (15). According to the invention, the switching means (38) are mechanically driven. |