LTM versus M - differences beyond the mount?

[philipus]

Been spending some time on that flicker group. The 9cm Elmar and the 35 Summaron have been the standouts so far.

Now ya got me thinking of a Barnack. Actually had ordered one but changed my mind and went with a Zorki instead.

Barnacks are lovely cameras. Small, light and peculiar.

I have a 1934 Elmar 9cm/4 which is a great performer. That said, my 90 Elmarit-M is significantly better, being much sharper and more contrasty. Lens design did advance quite a bit from the 1930s until now. Erwin Puts has a great e-book called "Leica Chronicle 2012" which gives a wealth of info on virtually all LTM and M lenses. Highly worth the 6,99€ price tag.

Cheers
Philip