To answer your first question, photofocus is designed to get you to make that eye-mind connection. The text will probably be blurry, and that is fine. The key to the photofocus technique is not really the blip page or the X, but just being able to take in the printed page in one expansive soft gaze.
Look at the book as if you have X-ray vision, make sure you can see the whitespace between the paragraphs and you're fine.
With time and experience the text will achieve a certain clarity.
