A measuring instrument for coordinative measuring of object surface points of an object embodied as a measuring head of a coordinate measuring machine or of an articulated arm or embodied as a handheld measuring probe of a measuring system having a surveying station such as a laser tracker or as a 6-DoF handheld measuring instrument with an IMU. The measuring instrument comprises a scanning absolute distance meter with a light source, a transmission channel for emitting light from the light source as a measurement beam along a targeting axis towards the object, a beam deflection unit for scanning deflection of the targeting axis, a receiver channel for receiving at least part of the measurement beam reflected from the object surface, an opto-electronic detector for detection of the received measurement beam and outputting an according detection signal and an evaluation unit for determination of a coordinate of a surface point.