Reading all the posts from the whole forum is quite interesting.
I didn't know there were so many Pentax fanboys deeply thinking that Pentax "has the best bodies" and "made the better glasses" and "so much cheaper" than any other brand, excepted maybe Leica for the quality (sic).
So Pentax/Hoya must not be worried about its future, its products will continue to sell "well".
Now, my opinion, first about bodies (and I clearly don't ask you to think the same, anyway, I already know you don't):
Pentax did a wonderful job with the K10D. This body was miles ahead of its competitors on ergonomics and possibilities. But not without any flaw. For example, the jpeg engine was just crap. Same for AF and WB. Still, a very impressive job from that "old forgotten brand" that was Pentax.
Then, the big ones understand people were ready to pay more for more functions, possibilities, performances. In my mind, Nikon was the first to counter-attack with the D90, still the affordable APS-C reference today. Then Nikon replyed with the 50D and it's high resolution sensors. And they continued to improve their bodies, AF, sensors, IQ, in new models such as D300s and 7D (not talking about FF here, that is another debate).
What was the answer of Pentax to that? The K20D was basically a K10D with a new sensor. Don't misunderstand me, I like my K20D, but AF sucks, and high isos also.
Then, came the K7. Presented as "the new hope" for all pentaxists, most have been disappointed. Not because of the body, a new piece of art. But the sensor, the body masterpiece for IQ, was almost the same than in the K20D, maybe even worse! No way to spend 1200 dollars to get a body with (at most) the same images than the previous body. Add to that the "shutter blur crysis" and a cheaper model (Kx) with "higher" IQ. Then you understand why it is difficult to advice this body for new photographers, and why even the oldest Pentaxians upgraded from their old bodies to the small one, not to the flagship one. During this time, the AF was improved, but basically, it remains the poorest AF of the APS-C market, far far behind SoNiCanon. And image stabilization is still very much not convincing to me (my Panasonic FZ50 was performing way better than Pentax SR, was a chock to me when I bought K20D!)
Now let's talk about the lenses:
I read here very often than Pentax lenses are the best of the world. Really? Which one? The one which are as expensive as a Canon L lens? Without fast and silent USM AF motor? Nor being fast ones?
While Pentax situation was quite OK 2 years ago with many new DA lenses coming out, today's situation is in my opinion extremely serious! When Kx was released, I was happy to tell new comers they must take a look at it. Very good IQ, low price. But today, if I was one of them, I would feel trapped. Where are the lenses necessary for any beginner to grow? WHere are the cheap primes? Where is the choice in non too much expensive telezoom? Pentax is the only one to not offer any opportunity to get cheap prime. And I really don't think a "beginner" will start with a 500 dollars one. Especially the old outdate plastic look FA35 and FA50mm. Manual focus ones? Come on, we are in an "all automatic" world...
So I stopped to tell people they must check at Pentax body(ies?). Even for advanced users as you and me. Are you happy to pay that amount for lenses DA only compatible, with the terribly noisy AF? Or a "doubtful" and very slow SDM AF?
Pentax must wake up and open its eyes on the actual catastrophic lenses line up they try to sell compared to other brands. Like the bodies, they don't even offer half of the references that you can find in C/N, and there you have silent ultrafast AF in most of their lenses coupled to the high-end body AF module.
Yes, I am sorry my post is a bit nasty (I terribly lack sleep), but it is what I exactly think of the present situation. Actually I do not leave Pentax for the lack of FF. APS-C is becoming better and better, even if still far from present FF bodies, maybe I don't need a soooo big improvement. But what I cannot support anymore is the lack of lenses and features that any other brands can offer to their costumers. I need silent AF because sometimes I have to shoot during scientific meetings or classical music events (and the driller sound of my K20D is not welcome), I need fast AF because Pentax ones was good enougth when I started, but now I am much faster and need it to follow me, I am tired of the poor SR sytem (maybe it is a personal problem, maybe my shaking is specially unadapted to Pentax SR system, still, it seems almost useless to me) and I definitely need more lenses choices.
If actual Pentax products suit all your needs, good for you. But please stop to say again and again Pentax is better than anybody else. That is totally wrong, that is fanboy discussion (just like on sony's forum). And if it was true there will not be so many (almost all of them) threads asking for so many improvement for the next generation. Some things are good in Pentax, but many have to be improved by a lot to catch up at the bigger companies (and they are not bigger for any reasons).
Lets see what will Pentax announces in Photokina, and people staying in Pentax must accept they have to do with what they have, without trying to auto-persuade themselves they have "all the best of the world".