Full disclosure, I know nothing about cameras, so apologies if this sounds like a dumb question.

But the old lady wants a beginner rig for general photography (mostly family photos/general use). Her cousin recommended the Cannon R50 with an RF-S18-45mm lens. He said it would be a 'good' entry level camera that will have all the features she wants to get into the hobby. Is this suggestion on point? Any others you'd recommend I look into?

ETA: Budget around $700-800

I'm not a Canon guy but I gotta tell you that thing checks all the boxes with all good specs. For beginners it has full auto mode. Dont let her use that as a crutch or she may as well just have a point and shoot camera. and it has full manual mode to really get creative with light.

I dunno man, that thing looks a little outside my budget.

You guys are zero help.

From OP, I would recommend one of those better grade camera-phones along the lines of Apple Iphones. Don't laugh at those camera-phones, Apple, Samsung etc, have put in exceptional amount of research into getting a good image from camera phone's teeny, tiny sensors. I find that many places won't let you take in a stand-alone camera, but they will let you take in a cell phone.

The trick to get a really decent image is to specify the highest level settings for photos, ie max size, ie s, m, & L; select L, and max color saturation in the photographs. The reason why those camera phones give only a so, so photo is because they are only meant for a person just to get a quick snapshot and nothing more. Those multiple lens phone cameras switch seamlessly between the 2-3 lenses through advance software.

If you want a better phone-camera, look in to the Sony Xperia line. They have a true telephoto using optical rather than digital zoom

An entry-level P&S camera from any of the major camera makers such as Nikon, Canon, Sony etc  will get you a decent image using the "A"-mode,  but to get really good image requires a bit of practice with that particular camera.

You can get a refurbished Canon EOS RP for $599:

https://www.usa.canon.com/shop/p/refurbished-eos-rp-body

Refurbished Canon RF 24-105 f/4-7.1 IS STM for $219 when they come back in stock ($400 new).

https://www.usa.canon.com/shop/p/refurbished-rf24-105mm-f4-7-1-is-stm

Full frame, 26mp, half decent auto focus. Decent quality HD video (don't bother with the 4k video capabilities). You won't be able to get into a fixed aperture zoom lens for less than about $800 for refurbished.

It's a good all around starter camera, for an entry level hobbyist. Won't do high drive modes more than about 4 fps. I still use mine occasionally, though mostly as my webcam.

Wow, the above refurbished Canon stuff seems a good deal. I am new to this corner of the forum but have been lurking for some time.

I am new to modern digital cameras and just bought a Panasonic Lumix S5 with a couple of lenses.  Had always been into 35mm, and had an old sony digital back when 5mp was a big deal.  It died and I lost the urge, just taking snapshots with cellphone if needed.

I assume most newer digitals are comparable in features, and I am blown away at the complexity of what I now have.  I will likely never use the full toolkit the camera I bought offers.

I would really consider the end user's tech level and desire to learn, these newer cameras can be intimidating in their complexity.  Ask me how I know.

Most newer cameras are pretty comparable in features.
But they usually have a strong point in a few areas.
Strengths in areas you use make for a great fit.

Imo the r50 would be a great starter camera, its entry level but quality. High Quality Lenses are what really matter the most with the photo quality.

If you can step up the budget (which you don’t need to at all for a beginner) the r7 imo would be the next next camera I’d seriously look at, it’s about double the price but you get a lot more features like stabilization in the camera body.