Here's the thing, though:
He's just starting out. He doesn't have the programs, the scanners, the printers, or well, likely any of it OR the budget. When he says "limited budget - just starting out" - IME, that means he has well under $1000 and wants to start shooting less than a hundred shots a month.
That level of output as well as lack of technical/computer tools and his budget means that film(slides specifically) are his best bet to start out with. Get a nice used film camera and a couple of lenses and buy some rolls of 100 speed Velvia and go. $500, tops. He's gong to be using photo labs to do anything larger than a postcard at this stage, so the differences in quality is moot, really - film and digital at 5*7 or even 8*11 are slim to none. Add another $100-200 or so for a projector and screen, used of course. There he WILL be able to see the difference good slide film gives you over digital.
The best photographers I know of started out with 1-2 types of film and 1-2 lenses and learned to use them really really well.
My first real camera was a Rolleicord. Even more basic - manual everything. I have a few shots of Yosemite and Petrified Forest National Monument that I took with this that look as good as anything that rube Rockwell has on his site. (tells you where poor Ken's skills are, really) It's not world-class photography, but good film is still no joke if you're looking for quality and have plenty of time to compose a shot.
My second camera was a Minolta X-7a. I have some amazing shots of trips and scenery from all over the U.S. from it(usually a fast 28mm lens was all I took on my trips - occasionally I also packed a 50mm). Small, light, no batteries(winder was removable if the batteries died), and one lens. Perfect for trips or carrying with me in the car. I could focus, shoot, and tweak aperture and shutter speed in about two seconds thanks to the bright leds in the finder. No menus, no interfaces - just point, focus, and click.
The skills that you learn from a manual or simpler camera matter. Really. too many of us learned these skills on film cameras and have moved to digital - but forget how important they are.(and like I mentioned, you can get into film for silly low prices).
The money he will spend on a spare battery and a memory card can buy him a manual prime lens from the 80s with optics to drool over. Manual lenses are insanely cheap now if you hunt around as a lot of people don't know what they actually have.
Now if he's *really* interested in photography and landscapes, he might look at an old TLR for $100 someplace and start shooting. It's where I started and I'd do it exactly the same if I had to do it all over. Doubly so if he shoots black and white - setting up your own darkroom is almost a rite of passage - heh. Black and white film can be has as cheaply as $2 a roll in bulk and developing on your own saves a lot of money. I'm a fan of black and white as well since it forces you to concentrate on lighting a lot more(IME of course)