Does Pre-flash = Pre-fail?

[ViewFinder711]

I am looking into Nikon's creative lighting system and the options available for different lighting techniques. One aspect of lighting that has troubled me is the pre-flash that results from using a camera, such as the D700, as the commander for seperate speedlights, such as the SB600 or SB900. The D700 uses the built in flash to communicate with the speedlights using an actual flash just before the picture is taken. Is the pre-flash something to be concerned about, or bothered by, when shooting with speedlights? Is it worth investing in a individual commander, such as the SU800, to solve this problem?

[Nicole]

I use it constantly without issue. I'm not sure which part of it you'd be bothered by / concerned about. If it's a concern about adding to the exposure, I have my on camera flash set to --. I personally haven't found a reason to invest in a SU800. I'd consider radio triggers at some point if the line of sight thing became an issue, but otherwise, I'm fine with it.

[ViewFinder711]

I see. I read about the pre-flash causing problems with close-up photography, when the camera is close enough to the subject to catch the flash in the picture. They also mentioned that children were often blinking in their images because they were reacting to the pre-flash.

[inkista]

First probably can probably be mitigated by using that IR-pop-on filter thingie (SG-3IR), if you find it happening a lot (i.e., it filters out the visible light to infrared, which the CLS receivers can still see).

The second is really only an issue if you're silly enough to be using rear-curtain sync and a long shutter speed. Typically, the pre-flash and flash are close enough together to be indistinguishable.