exposure problems

dewdrop630

I just got a Canon 60D and I am trying to take photos of my jewelry. I have a setup with lights, white background, fill cards and a tripod. When I set my camer to AV and use F11-16 all of my photos are way over exposed. I thought the camera would choose the correct shutter speed. I am not sure if my menu settings are correct. There are just so many that I feel lost.

And009

Check the exposure settings, they're probably set too high. You can find this from the [Q] quick menu, on the left side, 2nd row. It should be around the middle.
If it's already set at 0 then try a -ve value and take a test shot.

PBked

Hi,
With your set-up, I would tend to use AV with a large aperture say F3.5 for example. This is because you do not need a large depth of field for your subject. With a large aperture you will be able to use faster shutter speeds. Set your ISO to 100. Also choose the centre focus point.
With a white background you need to think about using either partial or spot metering as the background is probably giving your sensor a headache.
If, after taking some test shots, you find the picture is still too bright, then, as And009 has said, try applying some negative exposure values. Also make sure that you disable the auto lighting optimiser. Try different white balance settings by setting up a custom white balance or create a custom picture style with reduced brightness and contrast.
Good luck and give us feedback on how you got on.
Regards,
PBked