Probably the Canon's for picture quality, but if I had $300 I'd spend on it on the tiny VGA 30fps movie recording wonder that is the Sony DSC-L1. Takes pretty good pictures too but weak flash since it's a subcompact. It's 4 Megapixels and unfortunately there's been no reviews on it yet. Don't forget they'll need to buy flash media to store the more pictures on and maybe a carrying case..
You can find it at stores like Staples and Circuitcity. Check for stock before you go though.
Id go with the Canon Powershot A75. Thats the one I have and I am Very happy with it. Great Picture Quality and a ton of features! You can get it for $199-$249 at most stores.