diff --git a/image-registration b/image-registration
index e5136f0..2b01f65 160000
--- a/image-registration
+++ b/image-registration
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Subproject commit e5136f00bbcfce27355637248808c249d749c7cd
+Subproject commit 2b01f65cc941dd046ba4a93d21e56d566fd6f76b
diff --git a/ndbioimage/src/error.rs b/ndbioimage/src/error.rs
index 8dbd05f..3d2791b 100644
--- a/ndbioimage/src/error.rs
+++ b/ndbioimage/src/error.rs
@@ -117,6 +117,9 @@ pub enum Error {
     /// the view is empty
     #[error("empty view")]
     EmptyView,
+    /// the view cannot be parsed as a scalar
+    #[error("not a scalar")]
+    NotScalar,
     /// the color string could not be parsed
     #[error("invalid color: {0}")]
     InvalidColor(String),
diff --git a/ndbioimage/src/py/imread.rs b/ndbioimage/src/py/imread.rs
index 61cc7d6..4ad1e3b 100644
--- a/ndbioimage/src/py/imread.rs
+++ b/ndbioimage/src/py/imread.rs
@@ -4,9 +4,10 @@ use crate::metadata::Metadata;
 use crate::movie::MovieOptions;
 
 use crate::readers::{DynReader, PixelType, Reader};
-use crate::view::{Item, View};
+use crate::view::View;
 use itertools::Itertools;
 use ndarray::{ArrayD, Ix0, Ix1, IxDyn, SliceInfo, SliceInfoElem};
+use num::Zero;
 use numpy::{
     AllowTypeChange, IntoPyArray, PyArray, PyArrayDescr, PyArrayLike0, PyArrayLike1,
     PyArrayMethods, dtype,
@@ -26,6 +27,8 @@ use pyo3_stub_gen::derive::*;
 use pyo3_stub_gen::inventory::submit;
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 use std::collections::{HashMap, HashSet};
+use std::fs::OpenOptions;
+use std::io::Write;
 use std::path::PathBuf;
 
 /// class to read image files, while taking good care of important metadata,
@@ -70,7 +73,7 @@ unsafe impl Send for PyView {}
 unsafe impl Sync for PyView {}
 
 impl PyView {
-    fn item(py: Python, view: View<IxDyn>, dtype: PixelType) -> PyResult<Bound<PyAny>> {
+    fn scalar(py: Python, view: View<IxDyn>, dtype: PixelType) -> PyResult<Bound<PyAny>> {
         macro_rules! item {
             ($t:tt) => {
                 Ok(view
@@ -486,7 +489,7 @@ impl PyView {
             .collect::<Vec<_>>();
         let view = view.permute_axes(&axes)?;
         if view.ndim() == 0 {
-            Self::item(py, view, self.dtype)
+            Self::scalar(py, view, self.dtype)
         } else {
             PyView {
                 view,
@@ -544,7 +547,7 @@ impl PyView {
         }
         let view = self.view.slice(new_slice.as_slice())?;
         if view.ndim() == 0 {
-            Self::item(py, view, self.dtype)
+            Self::scalar(py, view, self.dtype)
         } else {
             PyView {
                 view,
@@ -1157,7 +1160,7 @@ impl PyView {
             }
             let view = self.view.slice(new_slice.as_slice())?;
             Some(if view.ndim() == 0 {
-                Self::item(py, view, self.dtype)
+                Self::scalar(py, view, self.dtype)
             } else {
                 PyView {
                     view,
@@ -2006,6 +2009,643 @@ impl PyView {
     /// backwards compatibility
     #[expect(unused_variables)]
     fn set_cache_size(&self, size: usize) {}
+
+    /// set a value at an index - not supported (read-only)
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn __setitem__(&self, key: Bound<PyAny>, value: Bound<PyAny>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        Err(PyNotImplementedError::new_err(
+            "Imread is a read-only, lazy view and cannot be mutated in place",
+        ))
+    }
+
+    /// delete an index - not supported (read-only)
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn __delitem__(&self, key: Bound<PyAny>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        Err(PyNotImplementedError::new_err(
+            "Imread is a read-only, lazy view and cannot be mutated in place",
+        ))
+    }
+
+    /// in-place addition - not supported (read-only)
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn __iadd__(&self, other: Bound<PyAny>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        Err(PyNotImplementedError::new_err(
+            "Imread is a read-only, lazy view and cannot be mutated in place",
+        ))
+    }
+
+    /// in-place subtraction - not supported (read-only)
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn __isub__(&self, other: Bound<PyAny>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        Err(PyNotImplementedError::new_err(
+            "Imread is a read-only, lazy view and cannot be mutated in place",
+        ))
+    }
+
+    /// in-place multiplication - not supported (read-only)
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn __imul__(&self, other: Bound<PyAny>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        Err(PyNotImplementedError::new_err(
+            "Imread is a read-only, lazy view and cannot be mutated in place",
+        ))
+    }
+
+    /// in-place true division - not supported (read-only)
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn __itruediv__(&self, other: Bound<PyAny>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        Err(PyNotImplementedError::new_err(
+            "Imread is a read-only, lazy view and cannot be mutated in place",
+        ))
+    }
+
+    /// in-place floor division - not supported (read-only)
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn __ifloordiv__(&self, other: Bound<PyAny>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        Err(PyNotImplementedError::new_err(
+            "Imread is a read-only, lazy view and cannot be mutated in place",
+        ))
+    }
+
+    /// in-place modulo - not supported (read-only)
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn __imod__(&self, other: Bound<PyAny>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        Err(PyNotImplementedError::new_err(
+            "Imread is a read-only, lazy view and cannot be mutated in place",
+        ))
+    }
+
+    /// in-place power - not supported (read-only)
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn __ipow__(&self, other: Bound<PyAny>, r#mod: Option<Bound<PyAny>>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        Err(PyNotImplementedError::new_err(
+            "Imread is a read-only, lazy view and cannot be mutated in place",
+        ))
+    }
+
+    /// in-place bitwise AND - not supported (read-only)
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn __iand__(&self, other: Bound<PyAny>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        Err(PyNotImplementedError::new_err(
+            "Imread is a read-only, lazy view and cannot be mutated in place",
+        ))
+    }
+
+    /// in-place bitwise OR - not supported (read-only)
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn __ior__(&self, other: Bound<PyAny>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        Err(PyNotImplementedError::new_err(
+            "Imread is a read-only, lazy view and cannot be mutated in place",
+        ))
+    }
+
+    /// in-place bitwise XOR - not supported (read-only)
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn __ixor__(&self, other: Bound<PyAny>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        Err(PyNotImplementedError::new_err(
+            "Imread is a read-only, lazy view and cannot be mutated in place",
+        ))
+    }
+
+    /// in-place left shift - not supported (read-only)
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn __ilshift__(&self, other: Bound<PyAny>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        Err(PyNotImplementedError::new_err(
+            "Imread is a read-only, lazy view and cannot be mutated in place",
+        ))
+    }
+
+    /// in-place right shift - not supported (read-only)
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn __irshift__(&self, other: Bound<PyAny>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        Err(PyNotImplementedError::new_err(
+            "Imread is a read-only, lazy view and cannot be mutated in place",
+        ))
+    }
+
+    /// in-place matrix multiplication - not supported (read-only)
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn __imatmul__(&self, other: Bound<PyAny>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        Err(PyNotImplementedError::new_err(
+            "Imread is a read-only, lazy view and cannot be mutated in place",
+        ))
+    }
+
+    /// set a scalar at an index - not supported (read-only)
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (index, value))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn itemset(&self, index: Bound<PyAny>, value: Bound<PyAny>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        Err(PyNotImplementedError::new_err(
+            "Imread is a read-only, lazy view and cannot be mutated in place",
+        ))
+    }
+
+    /// fill the view with a value - not supported (read-only)
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (value))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn fill(&self, value: Bound<PyAny>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        Err(PyNotImplementedError::new_err(
+            "Imread is a read-only, lazy view and cannot be mutated in place",
+        ))
+    }
+
+    /// put values at indices - not supported (read-only)
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (indices, values, mode="raise"))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn put(&self, indices: Bound<PyAny>, values: Bound<PyAny>, mode: &str) -> PyResult<()> {
+        Err(PyNotImplementedError::new_err(
+            "Imread is a read-only, lazy view and cannot be mutated in place",
+        ))
+    }
+
+    /// put values at masked indices - not supported (read-only)
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (mask, values))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn putmask(&self, mask: Bound<PyAny>, values: Bound<PyAny>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        Err(PyNotImplementedError::new_err(
+            "Imread is a read-only, lazy view and cannot be mutated in place",
+        ))
+    }
+
+    /// resize the view in place - not supported (read-only)
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (new_shape, order="C", refcheck=true))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn resize(&self, new_shape: Bound<PyAny>, order: &str, refcheck: bool) -> PyResult<()> {
+        Err(PyNotImplementedError::new_err(
+            "Imread is a read-only, lazy view and cannot be mutated in place",
+        ))
+    }
+
+    /// byteswap pixels in place - not supported (read-only)
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (inplace=false))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn byteswap(&self, inplace: bool) -> PyResult<()> {
+        Err(PyNotImplementedError::new_err(
+            "Imread is a read-only, lazy view and cannot be mutated in place",
+        ))
+    }
+
+    /// index of the maximum - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (axis=None, out=None, keepdims=None))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn argmax(
+        &self,
+        axis: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        out: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        keepdims: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+    ) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// index of the minimum - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (axis=None, out=None, keepdims=None))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn argmin(
+        &self,
+        axis: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        out: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        keepdims: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+    ) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// standard deviation - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (axis=None, dtype=None, out=None, ddof=None, keepdims=None))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn std(
+        &self,
+        axis: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        dtype: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        out: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        ddof: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        keepdims: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+    ) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// variance - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (axis=None, dtype=None, out=None, ddof=None, keepdims=None))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn var(
+        &self,
+        axis: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        dtype: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        out: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        ddof: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        keepdims: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+    ) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// product - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (axis=None, dtype=None, out=None, keepdims=None, initial=None))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn prod(
+        &self,
+        axis: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        dtype: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        out: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        keepdims: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        initial: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+    ) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// cumulative sum - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (axis=None, dtype=None, out=None))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn cumsum(
+        &self,
+        axis: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        dtype: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        out: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+    ) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// cumulative product - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (axis=None, dtype=None, out=None))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn cumprod(
+        &self,
+        axis: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        dtype: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        out: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+    ) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// get a single Python scalar - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (index))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn item(&self, index: Bound<PyAny>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// indices of non-zero elements - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    fn nonzero(&self) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// gather along an axis - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (indices, axis=None, mode=None, out=None))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn take(
+        &self,
+        indices: Bound<PyAny>,
+        axis: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        mode: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        out: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+    ) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// gather along an axis after broadcasting - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (arr, indices, axis))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn take_along_axis(
+        &self,
+        arr: Bound<PyAny>,
+        indices: Bound<PyAny>,
+        axis: Bound<PyAny>,
+    ) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// find insertion points - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (a, side=None, sorter=None))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn searchsorted(
+        &self,
+        a: Bound<PyAny>,
+        side: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        sorter: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+    ) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// return the n-th diagonal - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (offset=None, axis1=None, axis2=None))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn diagonal(
+        &self,
+        offset: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        axis1: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        axis2: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+    ) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// repeat elements - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (repeats, axis=None, out=None))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn repeat(
+        &self,
+        repeats: Bound<PyAny>,
+        axis: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        out: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+    ) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// truncate to a range - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (a_min=None, a_max=None, out=None))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn clip(
+        &self,
+        a_min: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        a_max: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        out: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+    ) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// round to decimals - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (decimals=None, out=None))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn round(&self, decimals: Option<Bound<PyAny>>, out: Option<Bound<PyAny>>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// select elements where a condition is true - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (condition, axis=None, out=None))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn compress(
+        &self,
+        condition: Bound<PyAny>,
+        axis: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        out: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+    ) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// dot product - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (b))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn dot(&self, b: Bound<PyAny>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// trace along two axes - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (offset=None, axis1=None, axis2=None, dtype=None, out=None))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn trace(
+        &self,
+        offset: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        axis1: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        axis2: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        dtype: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+        out: Option<Bound<PyAny>>,
+    ) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// real part
+    #[getter]
+    fn real(&self) -> PyView {
+        self.clone()
+    }
+
+    /// imaginary part
+    #[getter]
+    fn imag<'py>(&self, py: Python<'py>) -> PyResult<Bound<'py, PyAny>> {
+        macro_rules! imag {
+            ($t:tt) => {
+                Ok(
+                    ArrayD::<$t>::zeros(self.view.shape().into_iter().collect::<Vec<_>>())
+                        .into_pyarray(py)
+                        .into_any(),
+                )
+            };
+        }
+
+        match self.dtype {
+            PixelType::Bool => todo!(),
+            PixelType::I8 => imag!(i8),
+            PixelType::U8 => imag!(u8),
+            PixelType::I16 => imag!(i16),
+            PixelType::U16 => imag!(u16),
+            PixelType::I32 => imag!(i32),
+            PixelType::U32 => imag!(u32),
+            PixelType::F32 => imag!(f32),
+            PixelType::F64 => imag!(f64),
+            PixelType::I64 => imag!(i64),
+            PixelType::U64 => imag!(u64),
+            PixelType::I128 => Err(PyTypeError::new_err("i128 type is not supported")),
+            PixelType::U128 => Err(PyTypeError::new_err("u128 type is not supported")),
+            PixelType::F128 => Err(PyTypeError::new_err("f128 type is not supported")),
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// complex conjugate
+    fn conj(&self) -> Self {
+        self.clone()
+    }
+
+    /// complex conjugate
+    fn conjugate(&self) -> Self {
+        self.clone()
+    }
+
+    /// ctypes view - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[getter]
+    fn ctypes(&self) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// total bytes - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[getter]
+    fn nbytes(&self) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// bytes per element - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[getter]
+    fn itemsize(&self) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// strides - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[getter]
+    fn strides(&self) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// raw data buffer - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[getter]
+    fn data(&self) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// convert to a nested Python list - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    fn tolist(&self) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// pickle to a file
+    fn dump(&self, file: PathBuf) -> PyResult<()> {
+        OpenOptions::new()
+            .create(true)
+            .write(true)
+            .truncate(true)
+            .open(file)?
+            .write_all(&to_stdvec(self).map_err(Error::from)?)?;
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    /// pickle to a string
+    fn dumps(&self) -> PyResult<Vec<u8>> {
+        Ok(to_stdvec(self).map_err(Error::from)?)
+    }
+
+    /// a view of the same data
+    #[pyo3(signature = (dtype=None, r#type=None))]
+    fn view(&self, py: Python, dtype: Option<Bound<PyAny>>, r#type: Option<Bound<PyAny>>) -> PyResult<Self> {
+        if r#type.is_some() {
+            Err(PyNotImplementedError::new_err(
+                "type not None is not supported",
+            ))
+        } else if let Some(dtype) = dtype {
+            self.as_type(py, dtype)
+        } else {
+            Ok(self.clone())
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// a structured view of the data - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (dtype=None))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn tview(&self, dtype: Option<Bound<PyAny>>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// a view sharing memory with a buffer - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (mem=None))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn share_memory_with(&self, mem: Option<Bound<PyAny>>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// split horizontally - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (n))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn hsplit(&self, n: Bound<PyAny>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// split vertically - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (n=None))]
+    #[expect(unused_variables)]
+    fn vsplit(&self, n: Option<Bound<PyAny>>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// boolean value
+    fn __bool__(&self) -> PyResult<bool> {
+        macro_rules! _bool {
+            ($t:tt) => {
+                Ok(self.view.item::<$t>()? != $t::zero())
+            };
+        }
+
+        match self.dtype {
+            PixelType::Bool => todo!(),
+            PixelType::I8 => _bool!(i8),
+            PixelType::U8 => _bool!(u8),
+            PixelType::I16 => _bool!(i16),
+            PixelType::U16 => _bool!(u16),
+            PixelType::I32 => _bool!(i32),
+            PixelType::U32 => _bool!(u32),
+            PixelType::I64 => _bool!(i64),
+            PixelType::U64 => _bool!(u64),
+            PixelType::I128 => _bool!(i128),
+            PixelType::U128 => _bool!(u128),
+            PixelType::F32 => _bool!(f32),
+            PixelType::F64 => _bool!(f64),
+            PixelType::F128 => Err(PyTypeError::new_err("f128 type is not supported")),
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// convert to int - 0-dimensional Imread should always already be materialized
+    fn __int__(&self) -> PyResult<()> {
+        Err(PyTypeError::new_err(
+            "only 0-dimensional arrays can be converted to Python scalars",
+        ))
+    }
+
+    /// convert to float - 0-dimensional Imread should always already be materialized
+    fn __float__(&self) -> PyResult<()> {
+        Err(PyTypeError::new_err(
+            "only 0-dimensional arrays can be converted to Python scalars",
+        ))
+    }
+
+    /// convert to complex - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    fn __complex__(&self) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// convert to integer (index) - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    fn __index__(&self) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
+
+    /// object size in bytes - not implemented yet
+    #[gen_stub(skip)]
+    fn __sizeof__(&self) -> PyResult<()> {
+        todo!()
+    }
 }
 
 submit! {
diff --git a/ndbioimage/src/view.rs b/ndbioimage/src/view.rs
index f6e895a..7e95bfd 100644
--- a/ndbioimage/src/view.rs
+++ b/ndbioimage/src/view.rs
@@ -787,7 +787,25 @@ impl<D: Dimension, R: Reader> View<D, R> {
         let slice: Vec<_> = index.iter().map(|s| SliceInfoElem::Index(*s)).collect();
         let view = self.clone().into_dyn().slice(slice.as_slice())?;
         let arr = view.as_array()?;
-        Ok(*arr.first().unwrap())
+        Ok(*arr.first().expect("there should be exactly one value"))
+    }
+
+    /// retrieve the single item in the slice
+    pub fn item<T>(&self) -> Result<T, Error>
+    where
+        T: Number,
+        ArrayD<T>: MinMax<Output = ArrayD<T>>,
+        Array1<T>: MinMax<Output = Array0<T>>,
+        Array2<T>: MinMax<Output = Array1<T>>,
+    {
+        match self.shape().cztyx().iter().product() {
+            0 => Err(Error::EmptyView),
+            1 => Ok(*self
+                .as_array()?
+                .first()
+                .expect("there should be exactly one value")),
+            _ => Err(Error::NotScalar),
+        }
     }
 
     /// collect the view into an ndarray
@@ -1535,17 +1553,6 @@ where
     }
 }
 
-/// trait to define a function to retrieve the only item in a 0d array
-pub trait Item {
-    /// the single item in the 0d array, cast to `T`
-    fn item<T>(&self) -> Result<T, Error>
-    where
-        T: Number,
-        ArrayD<T>: MinMax<Output = ArrayD<T>>,
-        Array1<T>: MinMax<Output = Array0<T>>,
-        Array2<T>: MinMax<Output = Array1<T>>;
-}
-
 impl<R: Reader> View<Ix5, R> {
     /// create a view on the image at `path`, parsing series and position from the file name
     pub fn from_path<P>(path: P) -> Result<Self, Error>
@@ -1557,18 +1564,6 @@ impl<R: Reader> View<Ix5, R> {
     }
 }
 
-impl<R: Reader> Item for View<Ix0, R> {
-    fn item<T>(&self) -> Result<T, Error>
-    where
-        T: Number,
-        ArrayD<T>: MinMax<Output = ArrayD<T>>,
-        Array1<T>: MinMax<Output = Array0<T>>,
-        Array2<T>: MinMax<Output = Array1<T>>,
-    {
-        Ok(*self.as_array()?.first().ok_or(Error::EmptyView)?)
-    }
-}
-
 impl<D: Dimension, R: Reader> Display for View<D, R> {
     fn fmt(&self, f: &mut Formatter<'_>) -> std::fmt::Result {
         if let Ok(summary) = self.summary() {
@@ -1612,7 +1607,7 @@ mod tests {
     use crate::error::Error;
     use crate::readers::{DynReader, Frame, Reader};
     use crate::stats::MinMax;
-    use crate::view::{Item, View};
+    use crate::view::View;
     use indexmap::IndexMap;
     use ndarray::{Array, Array4, Array5, Ix4, Ix5, NewAxis};
     use ndarray::{Array2, ArrayD, IxDyn, SliceInfoElem, s};