A fast ellipsometry system with a resolution of only a few nanoseconds that can simultaneously measure all four Stokes parameters was developed for use in dynamic experiments. Due to its fine temporal resolution, the system is useful for a wide variety of dynamic setups, two of which are presented, fast foil heating and shock compression. As a test case the optical properties of nickel were measured in a fast foil heating setup. The complex index of refraction and emissivity at 532 nm and in the range of 1000-1900 K are presented. It was found that the emissivity monotonously increases below and above the melting point while an abrupt increase of about 2% was observed at the phase transition. These results are in accordance with the literature. Shock compression experiments included sample-free surface measurements. Samples of 1020 steel were shocked up to 25 GPa on the Hugoniot curve. The measured optical properties under these conditions showed a significant change; the value of the emissivity was doubled.