[daft_biker]

Using auto focus for macro can waste as much as half of the little DoF that is available. Auto focus will usually focus on the nearest point of a subject but because a significant amount of DoF is in front of the point of focus that's not where you want it to make use of all the available DoF.

Like with hyperfocal distances it's about shooting at the optimum setting for the sharpest possible shot. I think it's one of the many enjoyable challenges of photography if you chose to take it. I find manual focus is well suited for the times I use a tripod.

Auto focus has it's uses but then so do other techniques such pre-focussing. However, even with auto focus there are different setting that can be used...how the AF points are selected, how many AF points are active, what kind of AF points, if and how moving subjects will be tracked...

Using the same settings and technique for every shot is bad advice in my book.