Hi David. I can answer some of your questions, but maybe not all.
1. Firstly, where is a cheap place to buy it? - The distributor for Sony Vegas is aone.com, they have a website
www.aone.com.sg with contact info. You can call Cindy and find out the pricing info.
2. How much does the package roughly cost? I'm referring to the standard version, not the Premium one which costs a lot more. - There is Vegas Movie Studio which is the entry level program, and Vegas itself which is quite ex. Not sure what the prices are, best to check with Cindy.
3. Does the package inside contain any manual to explain how to use it? There's a quickstart guide on hard copy, and a full manual on PDF.
4. Does Vegas allow a blend of video + still digital images? That means, if I want to do a presentation can I switch on-demand between video shows and slide shows of still images? -Vegas accepts most codecs for video, and most still image formats, and you can mix them easily on the timeline. It text and media generators so you can add titles and backgrounds too.
5. Most importantly... Is it user-friendly and easy to pick up for a newbie in video-editing like me? - This is a personal preference. I found it very easy to pick up, yet very powerful at the same time.
Richard