I dont understand this sentence:
The depth of field (basically how much is in focus) is greater in compact digital cameras than it is in digital SLRs! Yes, that's right, you get penalized for having a cool camera ;(.
I find that in point and shoots, you have a much greater DOF, since most of them only go from like f2.8 to 4 something. I have a canon 350d, and the largest Fstop is 32. Which, of course is a really slow shutter speed, but it can be done.
I agree with everything that youve said. Definitely need more light, definitely need a higher f-stop [smaller aperture] One of the things, that wasnt mentioned is ISO. If you have no intent to print out your pictures, a high ISO can be used. It helps you to sacrifice light for a faster shutter speed.
I dont know if you currently use tho "auto mode" but in the 350D, that doesnt let you pick where you want to focus. In certain settings you can.
I would recommend shooting in the aperture priority mode [looks like Av on the dial] so when you click the wheel left and right, to set the F stop, it automatically compensates the shutter speed so you get the correct exposure. Another idea, is to step down the exposure, if you let it take pictures slightly darker, its something that is fairly easy to correct in photoshop.
In AV, you can also pick what auto focus point you want to use. So if your newt is facing left, and your camera wants to focus on the tail, that doesnt do you any good. I agree that focusing on the eyes is #1. You can pick what auto focus point you want to use by clicking the button [top right on the back of the camera, that looks like cross hairs in a square] once, and then clicking the wheel left and right to pick where you want to focus. then push the shutter button 1/2 way to go back into your normal shooting mode, focus, and take the picture. If you dont have an expensive macro lens, there are ways to get around that too.
There are lens attachments that you can get on EBAY, they are called 10+ zoom lens, and they screw on to the front of your lens, and magnify your subject, along with shortening how far away from your subject you have to be to focus. With that you also sacrifice DOF [at F8, itll look like F4] but you can get some pretty cool abstract macros.
I hope this helps.