[ccp4bb] sharp beam focus and radiation damage?

[Richard Gillilan]

I know that sometimes people like to defocus the x-ray beam at the  
sample so that the intensity profile is not sharply peaked. I think  
the rationale is that the sharp peak will cause damage, but  
contribute few photons to the overall diffraction pattern.

Does anyone know of a reference where this phenomenon has actually  
been tested (or even just used)?

Richard