Originally posted by Aristophanes Pentax will be totally silent on FF until they see where the Canikon and Sony price points go. If Canikon's FF (and even APS-H) offerings get within spitting distance of the $1,500 price point, Pentax will have to say something.
The literature in another thread about new DA* lenses is interesting because they, too, could be FF-compatible lenses. If they are (and the caveat to the truth of these rumours), we know that Pentax is hedging its bets.
FF is about when, not if.
I don't normally gamble, but on this one I would be willing to wager say $100 US there will be no Pentax full frame camera in the next 2-3 years. I'd also bet there will be a Pentax mirrorless long before they release a full frame camera. Pentax is just never going to be Canon or Nikon no matter how many forum members wish they were. I'm always somewhat mystified why more people who post here don't just get it over with and buy a Canon or Nikon. They are very nice cameras. I'm looking at switching to Olympus. People do it all the time. I'm going to get an E 3 and use it for a while to see.
I have the full DA 15-70mm, K7, KX, more KA and M lenses than I care to think about, Sigmas 28, 50, 70, and 120-400mm, Vivitar 105mm and a Kiron 105mm. I'll lose my shirt when I sell them but it's only money. Life's too short to worry about money, just find something you like and go with it. If you really just can't take photographs without a full frame camera then buy one and get it over with. I really don't mean that sarcastically. I just think you should focus on what you can get instead of extrapolating out what you think will happen. A lot of people forecast all kinds of things. Most of them are usually wrong, myself included. That said, from what I've seen with Pentax they are not going to compete with Canon or Nikon. They are niche company, much like Olympus.
Personally having used both the Canon and the Sony, I'd go with the Sony. Very nice camera. I haven't used the Nikon, but I'm sure it's great. I used to have a Nikon N90S. They make really fine photographic equipment. Without a doubt much better than Pentax across the board. I'm sure there are Pentax products past and present that are the equivalent if not better, but ultimately Nikon and Canon's entire product line is better than Pentax. They just have more resources available, so no big surprise there. Personally, I'm just not a good enough photographer to need that type of gear.