Ok, thanks Evolute and MCR. Maybe P-easy will see this sometime and respond back. Really the only reason I am thinking about getting her the Cannon is She has always wanted a Cannon, but Does not have the strength (she thinks) to hold a big lens camera steady (plus big lenses are NOT cheap).
Just a little insight
My oldest daughter loves photography.
About 6 years ago we bought her a Kodak point and shoot with 10x optical zoom. It looked like a mini DSLR but she liked it because it allowed her to have a steady hold of it when on maximum zoom. It did not have manual focus which was a little bit of a problem when lower levels of light and movement (pictures at a wedding reception comes to mind)
2 1/2 years ago we bought her a DSLR for a grad present, with the anti-shake feature which she really wanted.
Last Christmas we bought her I think a Nikon point and shoot. This combination has worked well for her. She carries the point and shoot daily in her purse and has taken some wonderful photo's with it.
For most of her pictures you would not know which camera she took it with as they are both 10 mega-pixel.
When she asked for a point and shoot here are some of the features she wanted;
It would take AA or AAA batteries - this allows here to just change batteries on an extended trip or shoot. If you have internal batteries you have to re-charge before you can continue. We use NiMih (sp) rechargeables
Second the camera was designed so that it was comfortable to hold steady (very important with optical zooms)
Third (I can't remember if this was for the point and shoot)an anti-shake setting for high zoom
Good quality live view screen on the camera so you have a good idea what the photo will look like
