I purchased it, mostly out of curiosity, but have not had time to really experiment with it, as of yet. I'm really looking forward to giving it some personal attention, just as soon as real life allows it.
I'm honestly trying to give this new format a chance, but it simply isn't aesthetically or functionally pleasing, to me. I'll be significantly curtailing the time I spend here, due to the current format's growing lack of appeal. In short, it sucks rocks, but I have other options.
Registration is not required to own or enforce copyright. Copyright is automatically applied once a creation is completed. Registering your copyrights gives you some additional avenues to claim compensation for incurred losses, should you have to take legal action to enforce your rights. As the copyright holder you have control over nearly all aspects of your creation, including how, when, where and by whom it is used and/or distributed. Your copyrights remain in effect for 75 years beyond your death, so your heirs can inherit and enforce them, once you pass.
There are a few exceptions to these hard line usage restrictions. Satire, some forms of commentary, limited descriptive purposes, some educational usage (another whole list of restrictions) are generally considered "fair use", just to name a few commonly allowed uses.
Simply asking is quite often all that is needed to receive permission to use an image. I've granted limited noncommercial usage rights to plain old ordinary folks, many times over the years. I did so because they showed me a bit of courtesy and respect, by asking before acting. I have also placed some of my early 3d GIF animations into the public domain, so that anyone could freely use them. By doing so, I gave up all of my control over their usage and returned a little something back to the online community.
I've also enforced my legal claim, when it was warranted. The once all powerful 800 pound AOL gorilla, as well as the estate of a very well known sports legend, both had to back down when they were discovered to be in violation of my copyrights. However, those sordid tales are best left for another time.
Derivative works do not mean you get a fresh new copyright. It's still a violation of the original copyright holder's intellectual property rights, because you never had permission to use their original work to derive anything from in the first place. She didn't create the photo and she can't legally use it without the owner's permission. Claiming any ownership of copyright just shows her violation is intentional, even if only through ignorance.
You might want to suggest that she not go there.
Would your next camera possibly be weather resistant? Lenses purchases tend to last longer than camera choices, around my place.
I've purchased a number of really nice Minolta lenses from Japan, for personal use, over the past year or so. There is no customs duty on photography items shipping into the US for personal use. You do need to be aware that some items purchased outside the US may be considered "gray market" or "counterfeit" and will not be warrantied by anyone if they prove to be defective.