The suggestion emerged in a tweet purportedly posted by Pentax Australia, in response to a question posed by Hong Kong-based Pentax user Sam Wong.

In his tweet, Wong had asked: ‘A Pentax FF DSLR is coming??’

Pentax Australia replied: ‘This very well might be the year! Hold onto those lenses.’

Earlier today, a spokesman for Pentax Ricoh Imaging UK said the firm was checking the authenticity of the Pentax Australia twitter account.

The company declined to comment further.

However, a link to the twitter account – which includes the tweet in question – appears on the home page of the Pentax Australia website.

In an interview with Amateur Photographer last year, Pentax underlined the importance of a full DSLR range but remained tight-lipped when asked whether we can expect a full-frame camera.