You don't get 10x zoom simply by putting the camera so far ahead of the helicopter, Rhinub

It's actual zoom, otherwise you'd see further than the view distance (because you'd be ahead of it), you would'nt be able to use it when you're grounded (which you can), and it wouldn't actually be accurate, ie moving it 10 feet in front of you might look like zooming in on something 55 feet away, but not with something 500 feet away.
That, or the "c" function isn't actually changing the view type inthe attack helicoper, but doing something else.
Though, this doesn't have much to do with the actual thread on using binocs as dummie weapons. Of course, this is also all off the top of my head, since I don't have pr in front of me, so it might not all be completely accurate
EDIT2: the chechen field guns in pr use a "c" zoom feature, going from magnified zoom to no zoom/scope, don't they?