[darrelld]

Don't fall into the trap of needing the "best specs" for the job.

Camera's from the 2010s were producing great images in color and black and white.

Go to a store that sells cameras (B&H Photo, Target, Walmart, Best Buy etc) and find a camera that you like and would be happy to carry around with you.

> FWIW part of the appeal of b&w to me is its limitations, rather than just an effect to be applied to color photos I'd taken.

I get this, but most digital cameras will allow you to set the mode to B&W so the preview on the screen is black and white, however the color information is still there.

More than taking the picture, to get to what you may envision in your head will take post processing. It's not just a matter of removing color of the image.

FWIW I like Nikon...their Z line of mirrorless cameras are great devices with tons of modern features built in.