NODs vs FLIR...

I am working for a "company" that has asked me to do some research into the prospect of obtaining a good system to use at night for surveillance. First some notes.

1) It will more than likely not be used on a weapon. Nice option to have though.
2) Cost is to be around $5,000 up to $9,000.
3) Recording what you see is a must.


What we want to see is people who are trying to hide in the woods and depth perception hopefully is a plus. Seeing people deep in the woods, say getting an image in a forest at circa 50ft deep is also a plus.

As of right now I am leaning towards a FLIR device. I had some NOD's before with IR illumination. Believe it or not my old cassette video camera detected the IR illumination flashlights and some lasers through the viewing port.

Any suggestions?