A device for optically measuring the distance from a reflective target object is disclosed. The device has a beam source, a detector, a beam shaping system with a transmission optical system and a reception optical system, and a laser beam shaping element that can be arranged in the path of the laser beam. The laser shaping element is designed as a shaping aperture, where the shaping aperture converts the laser beam into a shaped laser beam with one or more opening angles and the opening angles are smaller than the maximum critical angle of 0.3 mrad.