I tried to burn a piece of paper with my 50/1.5 at different apertures, focused at infinity. At f/1.5 it burned through the paper in 10s, at f/16 didn't leave a mark even after 3 minutes in the sun. I didn't try any longer times or close focus since it was hard to keep it steady (hand held), but it does support the claim that stopping down makes it harder for the sun to damage the shutter.