The burst mode of ISAAC has been used systematically to record lunar occultations with high time resolution, producing several unique new results that remain unattainable by any other technique. This is not the only possible choice of instrument for high time resolution, and fast time modes of one kind or another have been implemented on several other ESO instruments. We provide a brief overview of the present capabilities and summarise some scientific results. We speculate about the future of high temporal resolution applications, presenting the trail-blazing instrument Iqueye that recently completed its first technical run at La Silla.