Pentax makes dSLR's - and rather nice ones too!
Photography is probably my main 'hobby (and comprises a part of my work). Honestly though, all main brands offer excellent gear - it all comes down to your photographic needs. Do you really need an SLR w/interchangeable lenses? There are many 'bridge' camera's (non-interchangeable lenses, but a step up from most P&S cameras) today which can produce some great images.
Be careful about reading on-line reviews - they are *all* biased. Most people don't know enough about cameras/photography to give good advice and simply go with what their buddies shoot (who don't know much more) or worse go to a big-box store and buy whatever set-up pays the highest commission/SPIFF for the worker.
The photographer is nearly *always* the weak link in imaging chain. For me, i'm an old Minolta shooter (both manual and auto-focus in 35mm) and Sony bought the auto-focus mount and are making the cameras these days. I like 'em and have a couple dSLR's and they're fantastic for when i'm doing events, etc. If you're going to get an entry level camera, the Sony Alpha NEX C3 and 18-55mm lens maybe an excellent fit for what you're doing (brand new at around $500 +/-). They're doing great (evaluated by *users* not paid "Reviewers") and are very versatile little cameras.
I shoot medium format film 6x7cm Mamiya RB67 Pro-S for the best results so i'm pretty picky about imaging. When i need digital for it's conveniences, it better work and without hassle - the Sony's (Minolta Engineers) are great, but that's my bias.