Should I use the recommended environment in a programming course, if it's not mandatory? I'm a first year Physics  MSc student. This semester I'll attend to a practical course where we learn to use Python for scientific computing. The course is beginner-level. We will work on our own laptop, not institutional devices, and are expected to install all necessary software. 

Yesterday, at the first lesson, the teacher informed us about the recommended environment and code editor (Anaconda and Spyder). He also told us, however, that, if one wishes to, he's free to use any other environment of his choice - only the teacher will have a harder time helping him.

The thing is, I already am a somewhat experienced Python coder. Of course I still have a lot to learn, but e.g. part of my BSc thesis was writing (and debugging) a 1500 line complex data processing Python program. While I wrote this, and other codes since, I got really used to a different environment (bare Python installation with Pip, and VS Code). If only for my convenience, I'd use this. 

On the other hand, this is a beginner level course, and I'm sure a measurable deal of time will be spent learning the environment itself – so it's a good opportunity to learn something new. Also, if I get stuck and need the teacher's help, it'd be more convenient for him to use the environment he knows. And it's not my aim to get him frustrated... On the other hand, I think I'd be faster and more powerful using the editor I got used to, and that would be an advantage in time-critical tasks (like tests). Also, though I never used Spyder, from what I found online there's nothing it can do that VS Code couldn't – actually, VS Code seems to be the superior to me – so there may be no advantage in learning this environment.

Should I use the recommended environment, or is it okey if I use a different one? I'm sure the majority (maybe all) of my classmates will go with the recommended one, as they have no former experience with Python.

I'd like to get some point of view from educators. How big a trouble does a wayward student like me cause, may it annoy the teacher in the long run, even if he doesn't believe it now?

[I'm not really familiar with the tags here, I'd be grateful if someone more experienced could check them.]
The biggest difference you're likely to see if you use your own set up is the level at which your instructor will be able to answer questions. With the recommended method you might be told "Find and replace the string using control/command + R", whereas with your own setup you're liable be told "replace the string". Providing you already understand things well enough that you can make the translations in your head, then for a beginner's course and a mixed group you aren't likely to miss that much.

It's worth pointing out that it's perfectly possible that the teacher is more used to using yet another setup when coding themselves. Anaconda + Spyder is a good choice in this setup mostly because it works cross-platform in a reasonably consistent manner, rather than because it's a high productivity environment.