35mm film can be transferred at up to 12K digitally depending on the resolving resolution of the film and cameras used. A digital source is never going to be any better than its original resolution no matter how good the upscaling algorithms get.
While I agree that film can better some of the lesser digital cameras, I'd like to see some real resolution testing on film that shows anywhere near 12K for 35mm color film.
I have been a DPreivew forum member, practically since the beginning, and have looked at Film vs Digital comparisons for years, and while there is lots of theory crafting about the massive resolution of film, I don't think I remember ever seeing a comparison were people bettered the resolution of a good 12MP DSLR with color film (Note that 12MP is nowhere near 12K). Note this testing was done with still cameras, in optimal focus, shooting still subject from a tripod, with optimal apertures, etc... Movies are shot within MUCH more constrained conditions, negatively affecting their ability to capture detail.
Also note that 35mm Still camera Film actually has 36mm Wide exposed width of film, as still cameras run the film horizontally. While 35 mm motion camera film has less than 25mm (typically 22mm or less) width of exposed frame since it runs the film vertically.
This all leads to 35MM motion picture capture have a lot less resolution than 35mm still cameras.
You can scan deeper but after a while you are just getting bigger bits of film grain.
IMO, there is no doubt that 35mm film can deliver results that exceed standard HD/2k, but I really doubt there is much usable beyond UHD/4K in left in it.
Naturally 2K digital cameras, have nothing to offer beyond 2k.
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