Yo, yo. Camera's aren't really colour or b&w - it's the film.
What you want is a decent entry-level 35 mm SLR camera. You can probably find a used one that is fairly good and cheap (camera technology hasn't evolved a lot over the years, for the most part), or get a new one.
For new ones, you're looking at Canon's Rebel series, Nikon's F60 or F65, and Pentax's MZ-7, which is what I have. These cameras (including a 28-80 mm zoom lens, or so) usually go for around $550 CDN (about $350 US?), and are really about the same in that they'll take you the same picture, you just sorta gotta choose the one that you prefer (go to a camera store and play with them).
35 mm SLR is the standard/well-known/mainstream format for photography. Going past that, I know nothing - Duvall would have the answers there.