I'm about to receive my first ever camcorder, (CX500v) for home / family movies, maybe a personal training videos, and sometimes a fun personal project or two.
I'm aware that it shoots in 1080 60i (1920×1080 interlaced). From what I understand about this, it means every other line / field is recorded to the media at 60 frames per second.

I'm very 'green' at understanding the design of video resolution / frame rate so forgive me if I ask some very beginning questions.

I understand that there are typically 4 resolutions in play in today's consumer media

480p (dvd standard)
720p (some HD Broadcast and some Blue Ray) progressive
1080p (HDVD / Blue Ray / Digital Media) progressive
1080i (HD tv broadcast standard) progressive

The larger the number TYPICALLY increases clarity / resolution.

I understand if the frame rate is recorded at or near 24fps, the video looks similar to film.
From what I understand, 25fps is the PAL equivalent.

A) What are the other frame rates typically used for (USA wise)? 29.97, 30, 59.94, 60
B) If I convert video from 1080 60i to 720 60p, what should I expect?
C) Are there any benefits in staying with 1080 60i vs converting to another frame rate/resolution?
D) From what I understand, most pc users work in Sony Vegas, does one need to transcode/convert to work fluidly in Vegas?

Thanks again!

Interlace isn't progressive, each frame consists of two interlaced fields which make up each frame. There is a temporal difference between each field, but best not to confuse the fields with the frames. Progressive are full frames, rather like movie frames.

How the various displays handle this can be another matter, but in production terms you should be aware of the difference.

The vertical resolution of 1080i is roughly the same as 720p, however the horizontal resolution is greater with the former

24 fps is the standard for cinema projection not television. 25 fps works the same as 29.97 fps in NTSC as the broadcast frame rate (the 30 fps is usually just a short hand, although this frame rate does get used for the web), 59.94 fps is the 720p frame rate in the US. The full 30 fps & 60 fps do get used in PAL countries for slow motion.

High-definition video - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_video).

From what I understand about this, it means every other line / field is recorded to the media at 60 frames per second.

60i is 60 FIELDS per second, not frames. I shoot 720P60 mainly and can attest to the fact that 60i and 60P look reasonably different, although 60i looks somewhat more like 60P than it does 30P.