Digital BW, The Print

Hello all,

I am finally ready to stick my toe in the wave of digital and need 
some assistance.  I am getting ready to purchase a digital slr camera 
and am not sure which to get.  I am inclined toward the canon rebel xt 
due to the fact that I have several EF lenses already.  Is this a good 
camera for digital b&w?  Color?  Can raw files that it creates be 
uploaded into photoshop?  Also, is there a significant difference(to 
the naked eye) between the film based EF lenses and the ones custom 
made for digital?  And finally, is there any word from Canon that a 
new camera is on the horizon that is in the price range of the rebel 
xt?  I would hate to buy only to be out of date a few months later.  
Thanks in advance.  I plan on using this camera for color work and to 
experiment with digital b&w.  I currently use a pentax 67 with slow 
b&w film for my serious landscape work and then I scan the negs. I 
plan on continuing to do that and using the rebel xt as a backup or 
when logistics don't make carrying the beast 67 with me.

josh