I think it's worth stepping back and checking how you define a point and shoot vs a dslr.
I use a DSLR because I wanted the image quality that came with it, but when pushed I'd need to reveiw that. DSLR's give me the ability to overide auto settings if I want, usually live view with a tripod and manual mode for landscapes/night shots for example.

DSLR's have biggers sensor than most smaller point and shoot cameras, but it does need a good lens too, so if you buy a DSLR and stick with the kit lens, then you're kind of missing the point of an interchangeable lens camera. Potentially a smaller sensor camera with a well matched built in lens would deliver the same image results.

Referencing a point and shoot is difficult these days, as that market is nearly completely gone. Cell phones have taken that segment (like lots of other things they've absorbed - car gps devices, watches, mp3 music players etc) and they've got face tracking AF built in. By contrast to phones and small electronic shutter only compact point and shoots, mirrorless has all the same internals as a DSLR, just minus the mirror and viewfinder prism, so they're basically the same.

I don't see manual focussing as required to distinguish between a DSLR and a point and shoot. If I have auto focus capabilties and chose to use them then I just want them to work to the best possible standard. If I'm pointing at a person or group of people then I'd be quite happy for the camera in auto focus mode to assume I'm pointing at them. I'll focus another way if I'm wanting to focus past them for some reason. iPhones do this, and auto detect people in a scene looking at the camera and focus on them. It's great technology and I'd love it if it was available in a DSLR. Eye AF is even better.

Right now I only use centre focus and single point for static objects, but still peridodically get the background in focus. I use centre focus to identify the target and continuous focus around 9 or more wider points when trying to track sports type situations (like kids in a triathalon running or cycling towards me).

Mirrorless offers something like 500+ AF points right across the sensor, so frankly I feel we're massively missing out being limited to 25 or so around the centre of the frame. Where AF used to be a weakness for mirrorless cameras early on, it's now heading full circle in terms of tracking and eye AF etc, and that's just in stills.

Definitely . I’ve had too many group shots ruined with a background nicely in focus, and my foreground subjects blurry out of focus.

Or portraits where the eyebrow or nose is in focus and the eyes blurry.

I’d welcome this for sure.

Just as a reference, I have one of these and it is excellent! Would make a fine addition to any Pentax collection.

Pros and cons. Manual focus can be easier on an EVF/live view because of digital zoom and focus peaking. I've never felt comfortable judging manual focus via an APS-C optical viewfinder, even though Pentax had the best of these.

It's a chose to go mirrorless or DSLR, but the two have a lot in common. In fact probably more in common than different, given you're only talking mirror/prism vs EVF and AF system versus on sensor AF. Where originally AF was a mirrorless weakness, and a point of difference to DSLRS, tracking AF seems very capable on mirrorless now with hundreds of sensors right across the frame.

K-1 for that price is really cool. I hope members have picked some up?

The K-1 mkii incorporated the accelerator chip (seen on the K-70 and K-P), which supposedly improved ISO noise. It was knocked in several reviews for being too aggressive (eating stars isn't a good look when you offer the astrotracer feature). It's a bit simplistic to say it's just a new circuit board, as if that couldn't offer improvements, but in this case it is fairly close to the original spec.

That's kind of the theme at the moment though. The last really new camera was the K-P in 2017, and as discussed here the K-1 mkii released in 2018 was a small variation on the original K-1 (released back in 2016). Same thing happened with the K-3 (released way back in 2013) which received a mk ii variant in 2015.

Pentax haven't released any new camera in 2019, and in some areas (mostly flagship APS-C K-3 range) it's now been a very long time between drinks.

Quite the eye for composition there!
A superb set.

Not sure how I feel about only the centre of the frame being in focus for a portrait shoot

What a great result. Thanks for reporting back too.

Point is developments are happening, in every camera released from all other manufacturers.

It's very hard to have a conversation about that from inside the Pentax bubble, where time is effectively standing still at the moment.
Without being dramatic, the brand simply won't survive if everyone is 100% happy with what they already have, as they'd be no room to develop.


Re:
AF & IBIS - don't Pentaxs in Australia come with those?
No eye AF.
IBIS is now present on Panasonic, Olympus, Fuji, Sony and recently Nikon too.
Mentioned as an example of the market progressing - this is no longer a Pentax only feature.

4K video - not particularly useful when taking a still photo.
The Pentax low bit rate from 2012 is not particularly useful on modern Pentax cameras such as the K-1 either.
Video on Pentax isn't new (10 years of having this) and it's overdue for a refresh of even the basics.

MP count - how large a hard disk are you trying to fill up? You can always get that 645 you mentined.
Again mentioned as an example of what's happening in the wider industry today.
Compared to Pentax, where honestly nothing seems to be happening.

Hey don't be so negative. Let's not forget a special edition KP which had a wooden handle, and the Ricoh have also been busy releasing the eagerly awaited selfie sticks.

All jokes aside, there really hasn't been much of late. The K-3 was released in October 2013 and the mk ii variant 4 years ago in april 2015. We've had the KP which is heading towards 2 and half years ago, and of course the K-1 plus a mark ii version of that in fairly quick succession. The K-1 was early 2016 and the mk ii version over a year ago also.

The big news in the industry of late is around eye AF, IBIS, 4k video and huge MP count sensors, but we've seen nothing new from Pentax in a while and certainly no progression on eye AF or higher res options. Heck the 645Z was April 2014, so over 5 years ago and now with strong competition with the likes of Fuji GFX models. Without writing the situation off as the 'Pentax is doomed' joke, it's actually not looking very competitive right now.