A camera that I started out with was an Olympus Camedia C720. It's 3 megapix, 10x OPTICAL zoom (which used to be the longest OPTICAL zoom available), with full adjustability of everything from shutter speed to WB to apperture to flash intensity to different effects. The camera shoots great pics, and outdoors it shoots incredible pics. You can pick up simple bolt on accessories like 2x lens and wide angle lens and filters. It is an extremely dependable camera. Very user friendly. I would highly recommend the camera to anyone. I like mine so much that even after getting a digi SLR recently (also Olympus), I can't bear to part with it and I'm keeping it as a spare. BTW, you can also shoot video with sound no prob.

I also have a Canon S500. It is much more compact and easy to carry. It shoots good pics too. It's not as user friendly as my Olympus, but I have friends that don't agree because they've always used Canons. Maybe it's just me. It's an excellent little camera that also has a lot of adjustability, not as much as the cheaper and older Olympus though.

Personally, head-to-head and dollar-for-dollar......between both of those I'd shoot with the Olympus everyday. Hands down. The Canon is easier to carry and has higher resolution, but I can shoot better pics with my Olympus 99.9% of the time. This is why I opted to go with Olympus when I got my new SLR one.

You can pick one up, brand new thru ebay for almost nothing now-a-days. It's a cool cam to start with. She'll get her confidence up because she will be shooting good pics right out of the gate. She'll shoot awesome pics when she gets proficient at adjusting certain things based on the situation.

Good luck.