L.M.
I have a Panasonic Lumix. It takes great outdoor pictures, the indoor pictures are also very good. I've also had Sony camera in the past that were very good. However, Sony does require a special memory card. I've found that the cameras are just not made to last. Almost everyone I know is replaced theirs after 4 or 5 years.
My daughter has a color pix/cool pix, I think it's a Cannon. I don't recommend it. She hates it.
Make sure you get at least a 5x zoom. Yes, megapixels are important, but unless you buy something inexpensive, they all seem to have higher pixels.
As for batteries - rechargable!