The short exposure and high framing rate of the TV holography system allow for global interferometric measurements under adverse conditions. As examples, the use of the system to test objects heated to very high temperatures and objects submerged in turbid water is discussed. In the high-temperature experiments, vibration, deformation and surface behaviour of objects heated to temperatures close to 3000 degrees C have been monitored. The temperature limits are, apart from microstructure changes and excessive turbulence set by the accessible laser illumination to suppress the background radiation. For applications in turbid water, it is discussed how scattering due to contamination determines the maximum object-instrument distance and also the object size, again related to available laser power.