I'll assume from the price range and the fact that hardly any beginner outside of a photo class uses film any more, that we're talking consumer digicams.

For a pocket digicam with a good sensor, good lens and basic manual controls the F30 is a solid choice. Has awesome high-ISO performance for a non SLR camera. I almost bought one myself but I already have an old-skool digital Elph for a pocket camera and decided to get something more full-featured.

Instead I bought a Kodak P880. Doesn't have the high ISO performance or pocket size of the F30. Better lens with much wider angle, manual zoom, more manual controls, more flash options, etc. Pretty much a steal at $350 but it's not the greatest for a beginner because the interface is well, rather crap. You have to know what you want and not mind pressing a few more buttons than necessary to get it.

Another option is the Fuji S6000fd, it has the same sensor as the F30, a fakemeout-SLR looking body, more manual controls, wider angle on the wide end of the zoom, good interface. I picked the P880 mostly because I like to shoot wide and it has a wider angle lens than the S6000fd, and a TTL flash hotshoe. For most folks the S6000fd would probably be better, it has a better sensor and is easier to figure out.

Let's see...other options that might be worth lookin at are the Canon A710 and Samsung NV7. They both have good sensors and controls and image-stabilized lenses.

Otherwise there's really hardly anything in the p&s market that distinguishes itself. Almost everything is pretty much the same as everything else. The cameras I've mentioned all have something unique to them and little to no downside.