[Leica] 21mm or 24mm?

[Austin Burbridge <LIGHTandPOWER@ibm.net>]

I would appreciate advice and opinions about this happy dilemma.

I want to get one of the very wide-angle lenses -- the 24mm ASPH or the
21mm ASPH -- for my M6. Although I've read Erwin Puts articles and looked
at the scanty materials on the Leica site, I'm having trouble working out
which would be better. (I used to have a Canon F1 and a 20mm and I liked
the compositions, although the quality and speed of the lens left much to
be desired. I like the emphasis and the context whic a very wide angle of
view gives. I've also used a 28mm lens, which was not wide enough for the
look and feel I enjoyed with the 20.)

My first inclination would be -- all other things being equal --  that
'wider is better'.

But are all other things equal? Is the linear distortion of one
significantly less than that of the other? Vignetting? Other qualities?

And, is wider indeed better? What would be the thing you prefer about the
look of a 24mm composition, as opposed to one formed with a 21mm lens?

And, among those of you who have already made such a choice, between the
24mm and the 21mm, what were your considerations?

AUSTiN.