Chris_Ev wrote:
APO , DG, OS, HSM, EX,
There is no APO eqivalent on Canon lenses. It means chromatic abberations are corrected. Canon lenses do have that but they don't call their lenses that way.
DG means EF (not EF-S, which is DC on Sigma lenses)
OS means IS (optical stabilizer instead of image stabilizer)
HSM means USM
EX is the top series, like Canon's L lenses. They have a golden ring instead of a red ring.
Personally I got the Canon 100-400mm 4.5-5.6L IS USM, which is my favourite lens; absolutely great.

The push-pull zoom is very fast and I got used to it in about no time.
The Sigma 400mm 5.6 APO HSM lens seems to be absolutely excellent looking at the optics. Seems to be sharper than both the Canon 100-400mm and the Canon 400mm 5.6. But it has no "OS" and no zoom. The minimal focusing distance ("macro" 1:3) is a bit shorter than on the 100-400mm (1:5) and much shorter than on the Canon 400mm (1:9).
Still the performance for the price might be pretty great on the Sigma as it costs only about 1/3 or even 1/4 of what you pay for the Canon 100-400mm if you buy used. Still you have to be careful as there are older Sigma 400mm lenses that can only be used with the aperture wide open. This one is the version that *should* be working without limitations:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/huruguen/2921945252/