Originally posted by Ash I would agree with you, and 24Mp in a FF camera would suffice for me personally. But Pentax have to convince the greater community to buy their FF product, and I can see them fighting an uphill battle getting especially new clients to invest into their higher end more-expensive gear if it doesn't offer any more resolution to a competitor's 24Mp APS-C camera.
Umm... I think that depends on whom they are selling/marketing that (proverbial) FF camera to.
If the main target of their marketing were pixel peepers, measurebators, hipsters, posers and other camera geeks, then probably yes, they'd be fighting an uphill battle.
On the other hand, if they were to aim it for photographers instead, a K5 IIs with a 24mp FF sensor, a new processor and just minor tweaks and updates, equipped with a price tag matching or close to Canon 6D would be almost perfect. It would no doubt sell reasonably well, in relative terms, of course. Pentax still have some of their old brand power left.
However, Pentax as a brand would not attract the aforementioned members of the mainstream masses, anyway, even with a 36mp sensor á la Nikon D800. But a weather sealed full frame Pentax, possibly even without a low-pass filter and a competitive price tag would probably lure the smaller herds of photography enthusiasts and even outdoorsy pros quite nicely.
I believe the key here is the attractive enough pricing, rather than the megapixel arms race. Which would not fit the image of either Pentax or Ricoh that well, anyway.The underdog with a limited marketing might has to be either cheaper, or better/different enough.
Case in point, Pentax K-5, which is as good a cameras as its Canikon and Sony equivalents, and has got rather positive reviews in the media. Instead of going for the highest possible megapixel count, it opted for proper weather sealing and nice ergonomics instead. It was a bit too pricey to compete with the mighty two or even three at first, but now the K5 (IIs) is much more attractive in that sense, as well as the K-30, although a bit too late to make a major dent in the DSLR market.
Case in point #2, Nikon D600 and Canon 6D. No self-respecting and pixel-peeping camera geek will settle for anything less than the D800, even if they he'd only shoot brick walls. A bunch of active shooters and enthusiast, however, will and do, and are quite happy with their choices, despite the shamefully low megapixel count. I believe quite a few potential Pentax (FF) buyers are now going for those two cameras, rather than for the D800, which costs significantly more.
Well, this is all just hot air and speculation, anyway. Apparently the most likely outcome is that we will not see a full frame Pentax DSLR any time soon, if at all. But we'll see, hopefully I'm wrong about it, but I won't be holding my breath. On the other hand, chances are the possible FF Pentax won't be a DSLR. I think a full frame compact might be one possibility, too. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but some day in the near future.