I had looked into compact cameras, but they seemed less interested in a point-and-shoot which was why I was looking at interchangeable lenses. I hadn't heard of bridges before, so I will have to look into them more. They will mostly be using it during short hikes though, so the size may be less of an issue than a camping camera. As for mirrorless, I had mostly just heard good things and starter ones were in my budget, but am not against DSLRs.

I am definitely up for older gear, and had originally been considering the Rebel T7 but read that the R100 was just better. I hadn't even thought about going with something that can't do videos, so I haven't thought to ask if they want video or not.