The 24-year-old German left-back previously tasted life in the English Premier League and the Bundesliga but has joined Accies until January.
"A lot of people who play at that level and come down the way have trouble adjusting and still see themselves as a big player," Canning told BBC Scotland.
"But Lennard's a good boy and his attitude is a different class."
Sowah, whose parents are from Ghana, made his full Portsmouth debut in 2010 and in doing so became the first player born after the launch of English Premier League in 1992 to start a match in it.
Since leaving Portsmouth the former Arsenal youth player has spent most of his time in Hamburg's first and second teams.
"He is a talented player and you don't play at the level he's played at if you don't have talent," said Canning.
"The most important thing for me with guys like Lennard that are coming from those types of clubs is that their attitude is right. That they don't see themselves as a big player, they see themselves as where they are now and work hard to get back to that level.
"He gets forward well and reads the game very well. He's very quick; a good athlete and strong with good use of the ball."
Hamilton, in ninth place, visit bottom side Partick Thistle - who are two points behind them - on Saturday, with both sides looking for their second league victory of the season.
Accies beat Ross County 1-0 on 27 August and Thistle got the better of Inverness on the opening day of the season.
"Every game is a hard game," added Canning. "There is so little between six, seven or maybe eight teams with such fine margins.
"We know that if we approach it properly and perform the way we can, we know we can get the three points and it's something we've got to start doing.
"I read a statistic the other day that we've lost 14 points from a winning position this season, which is a lot of points. Games like Kilmarnock here, Dundee away and Inverness here we were 1-0 up with good opportunities to score a second and have not taken it.
"There's not a whole lot wrong with what we're doing on the pitch, but maybe just being a little bit more ruthless to go and get the second goal that puts the game to bed."
Hamilton Academical boss Martin Canning believes Lennard Sowah's humility helps make him a "good fit" for club.