I'll throw in my $.02 worth here as well.
I have been shooting for about 4 years now and am on my second body, a K-3, my first being a K-30. The folks here are correct, the first couple of thousand photos you take are going to be garbage, and its going to be frustrating. VERY frustrating. What made me happy, or at least helped me through those first couple thousands pics ( I am still working through them btw :-)), is that I didn't spend a huge sum of money to get started. In retrospect it was probably the best thing I could have done and honestly the only reason why I upgraded was because I got a real bad case of Gear Acquisition Syndrome.
Buying a less expensive camera body in the beginning also helped to justify the cost of better glass later. As others have mentioned and I will confirm, better glass makes for much better photos. Now don't misunderstand me, you still need technique and a good eye but if you have good glass that can render a scene the way you see it with your minds eye, it will make your introductory period into photography an much happier experience.
I will also tell you this, some of my favorite photo's that I have taken over the last 4 years are from my time with the K-30 and budget glass. They just have a nice "feel" to them. I will also tell you that the K-30 was far more forgiving on things like slightly missed focus, and motion blur. The additional megapixels of the K-3 (and as will be with the K-1) made me rethink, and put some serious work into my technique due to the higher resolution and resulting issues with blurred shots and missed focus. It was almost like going back to square one.
So after a very long winded and anecdotal response (thank you for sticking with me till the end btw) I suggest buying a less expensive body first, the K-70 is a great option. The K-S2 is as well especially if you can find it used. Use the addtional funds to purchase some good glass. I would suggest biting the bullet now and buy full frame glass especially if that is the direction you plan on going in the future. Use that combo to practice and obtain good photographic techniques (how to hold the camera, where to put your arms, how to use a tripod etc...) as well as develop your photographic eye.
Also, spend some time here on the forum, they have great tutorials for things like exposure, and the rule of thirds. Get on you tube and look for the classes offered by Adorama and B&H photo. They have videos from a few minuets to an hour and half about technique, glass, exposure and its components, camera operation and the like. I have spent many hours watching these and they have been a tremendous help in understanding how to get the "look" I want consistently and intentionally instead of getting that "look" accidentally.
I would also heavily suggest that you search the forums for crop sensor (DA series) glass that can produce a full frame image (create a full frame image circle) as the DA glass is less expensive, but when you get some shots undter your belt and upgrade you can take it with you and shoot in full frame mode instead of crop mode.
I hope this helps.
---------- Post added 10-28-16 at 07:23 AM ----------
Originally posted by FantasticMrFox Why do you associate beginners with auto mode? Anyone who wants to get into photography should start learning how to do proper exposures in various modes, we shouldn't encourage people to use auto mode just because they are beginners.
True, but if (like me when i first started) they have never used a DSLR before and they only know the point and shoot type of camera, it can be hard enough to learn how to focus, what all those lights and numbers are in the view finder, and how to look at you pics when you take them, and not get frustrated. Throw in manual only control and it cant get really disappointing really fast. Then people just toss the camera on the shelf and never look at it again.
At least with auto mode you can take a "Decent" picture, then ask yourself "Well thats nice but why is the background so sharp" and from there learn what each component of the exposure triangle does to the picture and what artistic effects it can impart to the picture itself. At least that is how I learned.