Replying to How can I get the highest possible quality out of my video?

I have been messing around with my t2i for the passed 6 months or so and I have been able to get high resolution video but I am wondering how I can get my video to be this high quality?

Salton Sea Beach from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

I have also noticed that after I have put a clip into final cut the clip degrades a little in quality is there a way to prevent that?