I agree with you completely on the first point, Algi.

But on the second part I humbly submit you ascribe waaaaay too much importance to the impact of what is said on these forums on what actually goes on in the market place.

Camera buyers are influenced by numerous factors from which side of the bed they get out of to whether the wife is presently of a bright and sunny disposition.

Purchase decisions involve highly complex social interactions and it is just not realistic to suppose that forum chit-chat is more or less influential than the myriad of other more or less trivial factors involved.

However, such a belief is nevertheless widespread and is closely linked to what the philosopher Karl Popper refers to as the conspiracy theory of society. It is interesting stuff, you should read up on it.

An apples to oranges comparison.

What this is in fact saying is that Nikon's market share is so relatively dominant that their high-end niche products are outselling Pentax's mass-market offerings.

Bingo. Otherwise they are merely to a large extent cannibalising APS C sales.
Depends on what you mean by popular. At the bottom end/mass market price competition is fierce and profitability poor. Interchangeable lenses combined with market share is key, to generate profitable lens sales from a largely captive market.

Nope. Strictly speaking the newer ones with 'DA' somewhere in the name are intended for APS C. You might nevertheless find individuals asserting that these will also cover a full frame sensor, but the question is whether the IQ is any good, and I certainly haven't seen any formal tests on that.

The FF segment of the market is small in volume terms but is much more important in terms of value and profit. More so because FF customers are additionally likely to sink a great deal of money into expensive FF glass, significantly enhancing the overall attractiveness of the segment.

But this is a serious problem for Pentax, who effectively stopped developing FF glass maybe 10 years ago. If they want to have even a rudimentary lens lineup I would have thought they need to introduce at least 3 zoom lenses to compliment the existing FF limiteds. Needless to say this significantly increases the financial risk of entering the FF segment, in terms of the investment required.

On the other hand if they go with just the existing Limited lenses as the Pentax guy appears to suggest is a possibility, the appeal of the FF offering to potential system switchers would IMO be greatly reduced, regardless of the wider issues regarding aftermarket service.

Furthermore, because of Pentax’s admirable if commercially suicidal commitment to backwards lens compatibility, there is a load of fairly high quality glass potentially available on the second hand market; again this reduces demand for new FF glass and the potential for Pentax to generate an acceptable return on investment.

Hmmm. I would hypothetically speaking be interested in a Pentax 2013 model FF camera.

I have quite a few lenses that would be well suited to FF, and had in any case decided to do nothing before the new generation of Sony sensors are introduced next year promising a major step up in capabilities.

However, trying to parse the comments in the OP’s quote I am far from convinced that a FF market introduction is ‘confirmed’. Of course these translated interviews are never masterpieces of clarity, but as far as I can see he confirms they have a development program in progress, albeit so far lacking in for example a sensor. He then seemingly goes on to say that it is a law of nature that this invariably leads to a market introduction, but of course that is complete nonsense.

We shall see. . .

First of all this transaction is far from a merger. Sony will take a stake of around 11.5% in Olympus, which is in the range of a typical Japanese cross-shareholding, used to cement relationships and serve as an anti-takeover defense. Undoubtedly the latter is a handy thing for Olympus given the recent corporate scandals.

Secondly the substance of the deal is related to medical devices:

Source: Bloomberg:
Sony to Buy Olympus Stake as Hirai Seeks Revival From Losses

Way to go, Tony.

YouTube: Idris Muhammad ‎– Could Heaven Ever Be Like This

George, your sarcasm betrays a lack of understanding of basic Japanese business customs.

In fact there are various plausible reasons why Ricoh might have acquired Pentax without the intention of running it for the long term, but I’m not going to elaborate on that and will instead give them the benefit of the doubt.

However, I am convinced that their commitment is contingent on turning around profitability in the medium term. Or do you think the directors of Ricoh are running a charity?