so, i went to the local store, had a few cameras in front of me to play around with settings wise, get a handle of, and as much as i wanted to, the 600D just wasnt for me. i also looked at a nikon for around the £500 mark and i felt it was a really tough choice between that and the A58. was in there a good hour, took a few snaps and pondered for a while, the bank account took over and said save £100 so i walked out with the A58.
it feels good and sturdy to hold, and the viewfinder took me a little while to adjust to, but it just seems to work well; can instantly see what is focussed, light balance etc (if that makes sense) took a few pics with different settings etc just to get an idea of how it performs, and for a beginner i think it's going to be a very good introduction. part of me thinks maybe i should have given the nikon the benefit of the doubt, but im also pleased with my purchase.
and cheers for the help and advice guys, it was all taken on board