What’s the best way of returning an array from a method?

[kender_a]

In plain C, I would do this:

void GetArray(
    mytype* pBuff   // [out] Pointer to the buffer in which array is returned to the calling code.
    int iBuffLen);  // [in]  Length of the buffer
{
    for (i = 0; i < iBufflen; ++i) pBuff[i] = something;
}

Array is allocate once and never copied, unless I explicitly call for that.

In C#, it's possible to return array from a method:

private byte [] GetArray()
{
    byte[] iRet = {1,2,3,4,5};
    // ...
    return iRet;
}

Is this efficient? Is this good practice? Do C# methods always copy the local array when it's returned? Are there any other pitfalls?

I found this article, which warns about pitfalls of using arrays with properties. At the same time, it doesn't talk about returning arrays from methods.

Any suggestions references and insight are appreciated!

Cheers,
- Nick