Up till now we've always edited our scenes in two stages - first we use the software that came with the HD camcorder, HD Writer AE, to edit the scenes - removing sections where nothing's happening or that have crew voices on, fading between cuts, and saving to Full-HD master in AVCHD format, same as scenes were shot in.
Then we load the edited master into Windows Movie Maker to add the titles and credits and compress to MP4 format for distribution. Though "compress" appears to be a misnomer as several times recently the MP4 has ended up significantly larger than the AVCHD (.m2ts) original edit master! Unfortunately the .m2ts files aren't suitable for distribution as they show interlacing artifacts on edges whenever a model moves quickly - the conversion to MP4 in Movie Maker cures this.
But, thinking it's finally time to move to "proper" software. Looking at Sony Vegas as that appears to be somewhat of an industry standard, and well regarded. However, which version to get? There are multiple options from 32 quid up to half a grand.
Stuff I need to be able to do: * Edit AVCHD files in real time, no pauses or delays scrolling back and forth (HD Writer can do this, Movie Maker cannot when working with .m2ts files). * Edit the soundtrack independently of picture to be able to copy and paste plain ambient sound track over any part with male voices or models talking out of character. * Add titles and credits that sort-of match our existing house style (or develop it to something better). * Currently shooting in Full-HD, but may move to 4k before long.
The big price increase in the Suite version is mainly because of DVD architect. I never used it. Even when I still made DVDs half a decade ago, I found Nero to be faster and easier for disk authoring. The suite also includes Sound Forge, but since Vegas is essentially built on SF in the first place, it's not really necessary unless you are an audio pro. Vegas already has most anything you need for manipulating and processing audio tracks.
The cheap versions are for Youtubers. Only one video track and two audio tracks allowed. (both unlimited in the full version) If you shoot multi-cam or mix various types of media on the timeline, multiple video tracks are absolutely essential because the "Studio" versions don't include keyframe animation for FX and size/rotate.
FYI, you only have to buy the full version once. Upgrades are typically around $250. In fact, if you can score an older boxed version off eBay that has never been upgraded, you can submit that serial number and buy the upgrade instead of the full version.