diff --git a/pypcd/numpy_pc2.py b/pypcd/numpy_pc2.py
index 7b5ba97..00140e7 100644
--- a/pypcd/numpy_pc2.py
+++ b/pypcd/numpy_pc2.py
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ def pointcloud2_to_array(cloud_msg, split_rgb=False, remove_padding=True):
     dtype_list = pointcloud2_to_dtype(cloud_msg)
 
     # parse the cloud into an array
-    cloud_arr = np.fromstring(cloud_msg.data, dtype_list)
+    cloud_arr = np.fromstring(cloud_msg.data.tobytes(), dtype_list)
 
     # remove the dummy fields that were added
     if remove_padding:
diff --git a/pypcd/pypcd.py b/pypcd/pypcd.py
index 68d199d..9459238 100644
--- a/pypcd/pypcd.py
+++ b/pypcd/pypcd.py
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
 HAS_SENSOR_MSGS = True
 try:
     from sensor_msgs.msg import PointField
-    import numpy_pc2  # needs sensor_msgs
+    from . import numpy_pc2  # needs sensor_msgs
 except ImportError:
     HAS_SENSOR_MSGS = False