Example embodiments of a large dynamic range sequential wavefront sensor for vision correction or assessment procedures are disclosed. An example embodiment optically relays a wavefront from an eye pupil or corneal plane to a wavefront sampling plane in such a manner that somewhere in the relaying process, the wavefront beam from the eye within a large eye diopter range is made to reside within a desired physical dimension over a certain axial distance range in a wavefront image space and/or a Fourier transform space. As a result, a wavefront beam shifting device can be disposed there to fully intercept and hence shift the whole beam to transversely shift the relayed wavefront.