Let me address one of your questions: can you get good B&W from digital images? The short answer: yes, and every bit as good as from traditional B&W film, unless you are looking for huge enlargements or are still seduced by the look of gelatin silver prints.
As a photographer of the fine art nude, I photograph 100% digitally, but often convert the natively color images to B&W (or toned B&W). Here are two examples:
http://www.shaynes.com/nudeimages/CRW_0117_Duotone.htm
http://www.shaynes.com/nudeimages/CRW_9816_sepia.htm
It is all a matter of learning proper Photoshop technique. So, even if you want to work in B&W, digital photography still offers you plenty of options.