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Here's a 2 x 1 composite showing the main part of 17P with a V filter as of 2008 Jan 06.0.

In dark skies, the dust coma of this comet is readily visible to the naked eye. However in 2 months or so its solar elongation will grow small and so it will prove a difficult object after March of this year.
With CCD cameras, my calculations show that it should be possible to record the dust coma at its next opposition in Dec 2008 / Jan 2009.
The increase in heliocentric distance and delta should result in a further 1.6 magnitudes fading in the surface brightness of the coma (including the effect of phase angle) notwithstanding the further fading due to its expansion.
Currently (Jan 6) the width of the coma at it's photocentre is about 1.13 degrees. In 1 year's time, this will have grown to an apparent width of 3.8 degrees or so (allowing for the increased viewing distance of 3.3 AU as opposed to the current 2.1 AU). So the fading due to expansion (presuming it does not slow down) comes to 2.6 mags. So the overall decrease in surface brightness would be 4.2 mag. The dynamics of the expansion should result in an apparent deceleration in the growth of the width of the coma as material is gradually swept downstream whilst some of the central condensation will expand to fill the outer coma and I therefore suspect the overall fading in the surface brightness of the outer coma should be about 3.5 magnitudes.
Presently a 30-second exposure at f/6 (+ V filter) will show the extent of the outer coma. In one year's time, the same signal-to-noise should be achievable using a stacked 6000 second exposure at f/2.8. Now does anyone out there have a 200mm f.l. f/2.8 lens?