V500 Transparencies: Focus Problem

[MJSanders]

I'd be most grateful for any advice on the following problem. When using SilverFast AI with my new V500 to scan mounted 35mm slides (in the holder, emulsion side upwards, away from the glass) I cannot achieve anything like correct focus. All scans are unusable and blurry.

Note that the same thing happens when using v**s**n, but when the supplied Epson Scan software is used, the scans are very close to perfect focus! Therefore I doubt if the scanner is at fault.

I know that the V700 has dual lenses (one for glass, one for glass+3mm height). Does anyone know how the V500 achieves focus? It apparently only has a single lens; do the "crop" settings instruct the scanner to "shift" it's internal focus, perhaps?

The same problem occurs with the strip film holder and negatives (ie. Epson Scan is near-perfect, SilverFast, etc are not). Reflective scans are just fine with Silverfast (and other software), therefore it seems as though some internal focus is not being changed for "above glass" scans(?)

Any suggestions or reports of your experiences would be most welcome. Thanks in advance.

[RAG]

As a starting point make sure you are using the latest version of SilverFast. Once you have done that I would suggest using the LaserSoft Support quality issue contact form located at
http://www.silverfast.com/problemreport/en.html?topic=Usage&sub=generic_quality