Originally posted by clackers You wouldn't buy Pentax, Fuji, Panasonic or Olympus if you wanted the widest variety of third-party vendor support, you'd go with Canon or Nikon.
My advice to a new buyer is to work out what lenses you might want for the rest of your life, then get a body to go with it.
For me, that was Pentax. If I want pro f2.8 zooms, they're there, the plastic fantastics for cheap, and K-mount lenses of all kinds, budget and expensive, going back to 1975 (the Limiteds are a dream for travellers).
The lenses take standard filters, the flash hotshoe and tripod mount are standard, and you can even use off-camera Nikon compatible strobes and flashes in manual mode with a suitable trigger like a Cactus or Acon.
I agree - the Limited's are outstanding for travel. My travel kit is a very small Domke F-5xb bag, K-5II and one of the following two lens combinations depending on the destination; 21/40/70 or 15/35/70. The bag also holds a Lenspen, cloth, spare battery, white balance card, a polarizer and a variable ND filter. All of the Limited pancakes have a 49mm filter thread so that helps. On a few occasions I have travelled with the camera and one lens in a belt pouch - then the 21 is the lens to take.
The Limited's are also exceptional for street photography. The small size makes the camera discreet and people are more as ease when you're not pointing a large piece of glass at them.
A few years ago I sold all my Pentax gear to re-assess my shooting needs. It was the Limited's that brought me back. Shooting only primes I have learned not only to immerse myself in capturing moments but it has also taught me more about composition and perspective while shooting from a unique point of view. For example when shooting Football (not soccer), I'm on the field an sidelines as a coach - shooting with the 70 from the sidelines often can give the point of view of another player in the game.
Pick your glass and then the camera is sound advice.