Bob,
maybe, I came across overly dramatic by saying rapid succession. My idea of your procedure is that the camera is mounted with proper aim at the target. I do not assume any sort of haste. I guess it takes 2 - 3 seconds to go through these steps: a) manually defocus ( I would want to make sure that the AF does not just stay where it was - If I do not do this, I do not hear/see it budge) b) AF focus c) expose .
yes.. each of the 3-5 shots at each AF increment need to be refocused or the LensAlign S/W will not use them.. it is not necessary to defocus but it is necessary for the camera to recored that the shot was focused. clearly i use the AF-on actuator on the back of the camera... if i could in some way make sure there was no variation shot to shot then i could shoot once... unfortunately i can't find an arrangement that will provide that kind of stability.
