it seems some people haven't quite read my post through (not that it was such a work of art or anything..
). i know the prices for nikon (and i know other things too, and i don't shoot nikon). this is business, the pentax system does not compete directly with either nikon or canon, it simply doesn't have all the "bells" (i couldn't care less, but when somebody gets into dslr, you can't honestly ignore that, when it's overall cheaper to go for canon for some uses, _and_ you get their famed af and so on). i'm sorry, but it's just business, and though i love pentax glass myself, it needs to be considerably cheaper, not priceyer. i have stopped in my tracks buying top pentax glass, and i know now that, if i decide i want new top glass (af and so on), it will make more sense to switch to canon. and i hate that.
i agree, the k-x is a very nice deal for entry level dslr, and i hear the sensor and in camera image processing is also excellent. i still miss the k200d though, the lineup seems so scarce now, with both the k200d and the k20d gone, there's basically just the k-x and k-7 on the market now.
don't get me wrong, i'd love pentax to be "up there", but just doubling the price without offering anything extra is plain silly. selling a very good, well speced toyota for ferrari money is also a misunderstanding.
finally, if you think i'm off, think of it this way (i have said this before, but oh well): if i want the 12-24+16-50+50-135, for instance, it is cheaper to go for the canon 50d and the tokinas (i might even be able to go for the 7d, actually), rather than building on my current k20d. that's plain wrong.