I have an Olympus D460Z, C-3000, and C-4000.
The 460Z is great for non-professional shooters who primarily take pics in good lighting conditions and don't have shaky hands or are taking pics of still things. It takes nice panoramic pics and 'stitches' them together with the provided software.
The C-3000 and C-4000 absolutely rock. You can buy them at *very* low prices on eBay. Good in any lighting condition, come with a bevy of setting choices *or* manual if he's used to doing things himself, will take good pictures in nearly any lighting condition and it doesn't matter if his hands shake or if the photo subject is moving.
All three of these cameras use NORMAL batteries, which is a big plus. You can get rechargeables and never have to worry. They also have all kinds of lenses available. They also use normal Smart Media cards, not special "manufacturer only" memory sticks that cost an arm and a leg.
The C-3000 download method involves firing up the included software and downloading through that. (Can be slow at times.)
The C-4000 download method involves hooking it up to the computer and accessing the camera as a different drive - very fast and convenient. Simply cut/copy the pics and paste 'em wherever you want like any other computer file.
The C-3000 has a remote control, the C-4000 does not.
Definitely do a side-by-side comparison of any camera you're considering on
www.dpreview.com - that site is the best place to compare cameras.