1. A bar code reader for reading bar codes and determining a feature of a target object not having a bar code affixed thereto, the bar code reader comprising: a housing including one or more transparent windows and defining a housing interior region, a target object being swiped or presented in relation to the transparent windows for imaging a target object; an illumination system having one or more illumination sources positioned within the housing interior region for providing illumination to illuminate the target object through one of the transparent windows; a camera having an image capture sensor array positioned within the housing interior region for capturing an image of the target object through one of the transparent windows; an image processing system comprising a processor for interpreting the image of the target object to determine a presence of a bar code and if present decoding the bar code in the image of the target object and in the absence of a bar code, identifying the target object by determining a feature of the target object from the image of the target object captured by the imaging system, and wherein the feature includes a length dimension of a characteristic of the target object; and a calibration object at a distance from the one of the transparent windows, the calibration object having a visible calibration scale affixed thereto for imaging by the camera to allow the image processing system to determine dimensions of object features within the field of view.