I’m with the crowd that votes for the TG-5. Not perfect, but a lot better than previous cameras. My trick for the georeferencing is to wear the pain on the first obs, wait out the GPS fix, and thereafter, for the most part, the camera gets the GPS fix. Occasionally it won’t on the first photo, but if your obs consists of multiple photos, by the time you’re done, you’ve got a GPS fix. That said, I work almost exclusively in dunes, where there’s seldom tree canopy, which may play a role.
Other than that, if you do a regular amount of obs in a day, and do get stuck with a one-off with no GPS fix, triangulating from previous and subsequent obs will get you at least close.
Bottom line, though, even in best case circumstances, GPS uses statistics to optimize the fix, and sometimes they aren’t right. Under my good sky conditions, over a 50 or 70 obs morning I will get one or two that are ca. 100m off or something equally obvious and ludicrous. This is with the TG-5 setting for power optimization for GPS, I don’t want to go the next step, but maybe that helps a bit. Don’t count on it.
The original poster here doesn’t say what they have been using, but I’ve been using Canon Powershot ELPH cameras for years as a field camera. I started with the 4 megapixel, which got upgraded to the 7, then to the 10, and lastly the 12. I shoot a lot of moths, and the macro mode on these cameras is one reason I keep using them.
An added bonus is that they are easily hacked to enable most of the same advanced software features that the top-end Canons have - stuff like RAW mode, time lapse, battery power indicator, crazy long and fast shutter speeds, and lots more. People have been hacking Powershots for years (https://chdk.fandom.com/wiki/CHDK). I don’t know if that’s possible with other brands of point and shoot pocket cameras.
Never used a TG or any other outdoor or extreme camera, but I do use an entry level mirrorless camera which I have found to work very well for many situations. Even just a kit lens works amazing capturing insects, tiny flowers, ect… but I also use a “cheap” macro lens that enables me to get really close and get tiny details. My Canon M50 is very compact, but also has drawbacks too such as it isn’t weatherproof, and somewhat expensive. However there many many other options for mirrorless camera’s and lenses that are cheaper and more compact than DSLR’s or similar camera.