Hi there,
I know im coming 7 years later but I face the same problem and tried quite a lot of things. I got tired of tweeking and rendering and seeing that same flicker again and again. I would not like to use a tricky blur in post production.
I am using the built-in DOF with 80mm lens and volumetric light.
Flicker appears when blurring the edge of my object and the volumetric light.
I hope since all those years you found a solution that you could share with me.
Thanks,
Jeremy