arr = np.ones(5)

​

np.array(arr)   # This creates a copy of the array

np.asarray(arr) # If arr is an array, this won't create a copy

​

arr = np.array(arr)[1] = 200;    # array([1., 1., 1., 1., 1.])

arr = np.asarray(arr)[1] = 200;  # array([1., 200, 1., 1., 1.])