Was thinking a few months ago it would be nice to have binoculars in the game. Even more now with freelancer.
How it could work:
I thought it would be handy to scout without getting compromised.
Camera is just too clunky imo. I like the quick snap of a sniper scope
I’ve had a similar (well, okay, the same) idea. But given that it’d have an advantage in distance and tracking over the camera - maybe using it would be a suspicious action. So you’d have to choose a place that is more remote or higher up. I think that’d be a fair compromise. Otherwise, you’d only use these 
all the time.
Edit: I would have it allow you to mark targets… Buuuut… Maybe that’s too OPed(?).
The problem is mainly texturing and animation creation for using and holding the binoculars, releasing an item with a completely new mechanic this late into the trilogy’s release would also likely be a massive pain due to the cascading amount of testing, issues, and inevitable bug fixing that would be required for it.
That and its not really particularly useful and the camera already kind of fulfills its role. Maybe in a future entry we can see the return of the binoculars from the old games
But they already have an animation for 47 holding binoculars. There’s a blend-in point by his lake for the safehouse. And adding a graphic for 2 scopes shouldn’t be much of an issue since they already have several “graphics” for the different sniper rifles already in the game.
Now that I think about it - I actually suggested a ‘Range Finder’ type of device.
Anyway, it’d be small QoL change. Not something really needed, but would be cool to have.
Heck. The simplest solution could be a lens upgrade you could purchase to apply to your current camera.
Holding binoculars stationary in a blending in spot is very different than having it as an actual item, having the player be able to move around with it is another thing, you forget that mirrors exist and are a decent part of the game, they would have to properly animate 47 being able to move while holding the binoculars or at the very least swivel in place so that it actually looks decent from a third person point of view.
And again the camera does just fulfill the role of a pair of binoculars, giving a change or “upgrading” the ability of the camera to zoom even further would fulfill the exact same purpose. Although I find the problem of the camera to be that its often too close to NPCS rather than too far.
A range finder could only have some kind of use if there was actual bullet physics in the trilogy (and as such that’s why the item existed in blood money). Because range of the shot doesn’t matter (excluding for tranquilizers) and there is nothing like wind, it again has zero purpose for players.
I would much rather have them work on something players have really been asking for instead: such as dual Silverballers. At least with that many of the animations, mechanics, and a decent bit of the work already exist from absolution. They could work on that, and instead of all that work going to something that nobody will really benefit from, it will go to something that the fanbase would be overjoyed to have and might actually boost player numbers for a bit.
Already suggested before the release of HITMAN 3:
Continuing the discussion from [Final Review & More!]Dear HITMAN™ 2 Developers[CLOSED]:
Bus as mentioned in topic camera sort of do the job as a scoping device anyway.